Wait, what? Transferred again? It's true!

!Hola Familia!
Guess what? I'm getting transferred! And guess what? I'm getting transferred to Dawsonville! Guess what... again? Dawsonville is the area next to ours; if fact, Dahlonega and Dawsonville share the same building... and the same ward! So it's almost like I'm not getting transferred at all; I'm with Elder Asher now; Elder Harper is staying in Dahlonega as District Leader. He is also going to train for the first time! What fun! I'll miss some of the less-actives in Dahlonega, but if they would come to church (like we always invite them to do) I can still see them. I have worked around Elder Asher before, and I am excited to work with him. He and I are almost too alike; we like all the same things (sports, star wars, etc.) and have a similar sense of humor; don't worry though; I won't have us get along so well that we aren't getting any work done. It was kind of funny, actually; Elder Asher and I went on an exchange earlier in the past week. Seems like the Lord needs us to to work together here. There is more work to do here than in my last area; they have several people close to baptism, and I can't wait to teach them!
The people I'll miss most are the Alfaros, the Fenyos, and Brother Sandoz; I'll see Brother Sandoz at church, but the others are still working on making it to church; The Alfaros came to the Christmas Party, but still don't want to come to church, for some reason we have yet to discover (we are trying to be careful not to push them away). And the Fenyos always work Sunday. I hope Elder Harper keeps working on them.
Enough about me; how's Utah? Is the snow sticking? Sounds like y'all are having a good time, and that makes me happy.
Go Mom and Shelby! I wish you guys the best of luck in volleyball and basketball and everything else!
Go Cougars! Too bad hey didn't win, but it sounds like a good start. I hope they can get back to the playoffs without Jimmer.
I did get permission from the Mission President to skype on Saturday; I have found a member in Dawsonville who has skype. Elder Asher hooked me up with a family that has skype; what time would be best for y'all to get a call? I want you guys to be there when I do it lol.
I'm excited for the work in this area, and I'm excited to see and hear y'all! Have a fantastic Christmas season, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssssssssssseeeeeeee let me know the time so I can set it up. E-mail me as soon as possible; i have permission to check my e-mail everyday till Christmas to make sure we are on the same page.
The Dickson Family Rocks! Love y'all!
Elder Casey Guy Dickson
P.S. Devin and Shelby, be ready to tell me absolutely everything about what is going on. And Devin, SWTOR comes out tomorrow! I'll show you how to do the free first month thing, then you gotta get a job (it's 14.99 a month). Love y'all!

'Tis the season to be jolly and eat goodies and all that

Dear family,

Happy Holidays! Thanks so much for the package; I just got it! Thanks for the CD's; they have already come in handy! I can't wait to open the rest of them on Christmas! You guys rock!

 It was a pretty good week this week; we saw 12 less-actives! That's the most I've done so far! It has been tricky getting new investigators (not for lack of trying), but I think a lot of the work here in Dahlonega will be with these less-active members. This ward has the most members, but the lowest attendance; we have met some members who haven't come for years, for one reason or another. A lot of the leaders in the church are surprised we have gotten in with so many; a lot of them have wanted nothing to do with the church before. I guess sometimes all it takes is a friendly new face; it makes me really happy to see those less-actives come to church.

We have also seen a lot of active members this week; we are trying to get everyone on Mormon.org and make a profile. The elders and high priests are helping us make this push; we go out every Sunday on team-ups with them to try to see all the members. We haven't met them all yet, but the ones we have met are pretty awesome!

Our actual investigators have been out of it for a little while; the parents of the recent convert we have been teaching have been sick, so we haven't been able to meet with them or have them come to church. Our other investigator (the one with the date) is a little flaky; we are trying to help him gain a desire and to have him act on it; we'll see.

We met this other less-active family that no one has seen for a year; I don't know where they went, but they're back! They have had it rough lately; suspensions from school, death of close friends, divorce, you name it. They recognize that the need to come back unto Christ and repent, so we'll help them through it (with the ward's help of course).

Oh, a less-active lady is teaching me how to knit; fun, right?

We had a pretty sweet Ward Christmas Party; there was a ton of food, and a ton of members and less-actives, and even a few investigators! What fun! This ward knows how to throw a party!

We volunteered (or rather, we were volunteered lol) to work at this thrift shop; Brother Sandoz knows the guy who owns it, and has volunteered himself, members, and missionaries alike to volunteer time there occasionally. Anyway, we helped store bags of po-tay-toes!, broke up boxes, swept, and dug and dumped dirt so they could have more parking space. It was good, hard work! There were also many people there doing community service; we had a good talk about the Church with them. They don't actually live here in Dahlonega (dang it) but they were open to having the missionaries who are in their area to come visit them! Yay! We'll see what comes of that. What was cool was we didn't even bring it up; they asked us. People can tell the difference between everyone else and us. The best way to spread the Gospel is to be an example of the believers in word and deed. There is a quote I heard; I don't know who said it, and I'll probably butcher it, but here it goes: "Preach the Gospel everywhere you go, and, when necessary, use words."

This is the season for giving gifts to another; gifts of service, gifts of thoughtfulness, and, most importantly, gifts of time and love. Elder Ian S. Ardern mentioned that in his talk this past conference: "Love is really spelled T I M E."

Not only is this the season to recognize and celebrate Christ's birth but to also give gifts of time, service, and love to everyone around you. This IS the reason for the season. I know this church is true, and since it is, the Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was the Prophet of the Restoration, Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet of this day and time, and the great Plan of Salvation was laid down in the beginning, to show us where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going. I know that when we are in the service of our fellow men, we are only in the service of our God. I know that nothing is more important than the salvation of souls. I say this in His Holy Name, even Jesus Christ, amen.

I'll do my best to see if I can Skype on Christmas Eve, but I'm not sure; we are still supposed to proselyte that evening still. I still have to find a member who has it; the one who I know does will be out of town for the holidays. We may just have to call on Christmas, but let me find out what they'll let me do.

Go Cougars! I guess it's the best for BYU if we only have one QB; Jake will still do fine wherever he goes. Go, Cornhuskers!

I hope y'all have an awesome holiday! Thanks for the package, it was great! I hope to see y'all Christmas Eve!

Love, Elder Casey Guy Dickson

 

P.S. Hey Mom! Thanks again for the package and letter; you're the best mom ever! I may need socks. Love you!

P.S.S. Hey Devin! How's Psych/Basketball/School/SWTOR/KOTOR/Your Game Boy game I gave ya etc. Merry Christmas!

P.S.S.S. Hey Shelby! Same question to you as well! Love ya!

P.S.S.S.S. To everyone else who reads this; Happy Holidays! Send me letters lol!

Hey, where are the peaches in the Peach State?

Casey's new area: Dahlonega, Ga.

You know, even though this is the peach state, I have seen absolutely no peaches since I have been here... not even canned ones! They are all in southern Georgia I guess. Anyway, it's been a good week. Our top investigator accepted a baptismal date for the 28th of January, which is awesome! He just has to quit smoking, which is the trick.

Our other set of investigators are doing well; the husband has just finished the Book of Mormon, and wants a triple combination so he can read the rest. Holy Cow! They came to church, which was good; it was fast Sunday, so they got to hear a lot of awesome testimonies! They are still struggling with some new concepts we gave them (Plan of Salvation, etc.) so we'll keep on 'em!

We have also spent a lot of time with the tons of less-active members in this ward; some people we are seeing members have been trying to see for years, and have just opened up. I guess they needed some handsome young man to get in there and smooth things over lol. Really, though, it is a great breakthrough and I'm excited to see where it goes!

Some of the members have given us some pretty awesome referrals; two for sure I think can progress to baptism in this month! Yay! Getting referrals is the most effective way to do missionary work; the investigators are already interested, and they already have a friend in the church! We'll see how they go!

Brother Rick Sandoz is the coolest and funniest man I have ever met! He always feeds us lunch and gives us rides and referrals and a good time! We need more members like him!

The Fenyos are a great family too; they always want to feed us and always are fun to visit! It's hard to keep from staying too long; they are just awesome!

There was a pretty awesome ward pancake breakfast the young women just had; we came and helped set up and helped eat lol! We also were able to watch The First Presidency's Christmas Devotional yesterday; it was pretty cool. I love hearing Pres. Uctdorf talk!

Go Cougars! Good for them! Is Tulsa good this year?

Go T-wolves! That's a tough break, Mom; it sucks when all the best players leave, but you are an awesome coach; I'm sure you'll do well.
I have found one or two members that have Skype; I'll let you know next monday the time so we can all talk! I'm pretty excited for that, especially since I missed calling everyone from the airport.
Oh, I also found out that Devin is sending me e-mails... to my old e-mail address. You need to send them to casey.dickson@myldsmail.net for me to see them. (Miss you, Stinky!)

Happy Birthday Shiela!

I like my new area fine; there are a lot of dirt paths, and streets and houses that don't exist on the GPS or in real life lol, so it has been a trick to find everyone and everything.

We have our own chapel; it has probably been there since the dawn of time, because it's pretty old and falling apart! They have been trying to repair it recently, so we'll see if that helps.

My companion and I are getting along well enough; he and I have a slightly different sense of humor; I make sure he knows I'm kidding. Since I don't have Shelby around to tease, I have to do everyone else; it's not the same lol. (Miss you, Missy!)

The nearest Elders are about 15+ miles away; they cover the next county, but we share the ward and the building. The ward boundaries are huge, so we split it into two. It's been tricky, but we are getting the hang of it.

It has rained a few times (I mean RAINED!!), but has been pretty warm; it's december, and I can still go out in a short-sleeve shirt; something's wrong with that lol. We have been in a car anyways, so the weather hasn't been so bad as for bike missionaires lol.

The work goes forward, and I'm excited for things to get rolling; no matter what speed bumps may arise. I want to share a quote from Joseph Smith:

The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done. Amen.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Skype; be well, be safe, and be awesome! I love y'all so much!

Love,

Elder Dickson

Casey and his new companion, Elder Harper.

P.S. I sent everyone letters; I hope they have gotten to everyone by now. I dislike snailmail; not only is it slow, but they lost my letter I sent to Collin months ago; Hopefully he has my new one.

Stuffed with turkey, as expected

Casey and the fall colors of Georgia.

It's all good, I know y'all are pretty busy; good to hear from you, though. I had a pretty cool Thanksgiving; three of them, actually! On Wednesday we were invited over to an early family Thanksgiving dinner with someone in the ward; on Thanksgiving itself, we ate at the Bishop's father's home; on Saturday, we were invited on the spot to a less-active members late Thanksgiving! My pants are bursting at the seams lol! I've never eaten so well, nor have I ever had three thanksgivings in a row! That's not all; we were given all the left-overs; we have been feasting like kings for the past few days!

Things are still well here with my new companion and I; we are doing a lot of driving around to find less-actives and formers; we gotta learn how to keep better track of our miles so we don't use them all.

Go, Nebraska! Go Cougars! Sounds great, can't wait to hear how they do!
Yes, I remember Daniel! I guess it's too late now, but say hi to the Hillams for me and wish them a happy Thanksgiving!

Not too much is going on in our area yet; it's been a lot of less-active work, and working with the members to get referrals; since there are no neighborhoods, tracting has been difficult. Still, with an eye single to the glory of God, and a perfect brightness of hope, we diligently press on in the work of the Lord!

The members we have met so far are pretty awesome! They always offer to feed us and try to find us referrals, which is pretty cool!

I don't have a lot of time to write, so I'll leave you with a late Happy Thanksgiving, and and early Happy Holidays! Keep up the good work!

 

Love,

Elder Dickson

P..S. I sent everyone a written letter, so keep an eye out for it! I'm mailing yours today, so yours will be a few days.

Yes, I can fly ... look out below!

You will believe an Elder can fly!

!Hola Familia!

This are good here in the land of dirt roads that don't exist in your GPS lol! Really, it has been good here, just trying to learn our area has been tricky, since it is ALL country; there are nearly no neighborhoods to be found! Mainly, we have been trying to locate members and less-actives, and hunt down former investigators, which will be tricky, since they haven't had any missionaires in this area for a few months. My new companion is a cool guy; he loves basketball and BYU, so we get along pretty well lol.

The members here are pretty cool; they have given us a few referrals, so we'll see how those go.

There is this one member who is locally known as "The Great One" (self-proclaimed title, of course). He is a retired pilot and schoolteacher, and has some fantastic stories about his flying days! He pretends to be all swagger and arrogant, but he really is a good guy, and humble deep down. He dotes on his new wife, and is a fantastic teacher of the gospel! He and his wife have been having some health problems, so we have been over there, helping them out however we can. It's an excellent opportunity to learn at the feet of "The Great One" lol!

Anyway, that's all I have for now. That, and I'm running out of time! An hour isn't long enough to think of anything good! Oh well. I hope y'all are well and hope to see y'alls faces around Christmastime!

Love,

Elder Casey Guy Dickson

Handsome ... and the scenery isn't bad, either.

Short but sweet from Casey in Georgia

If I only had a brain ... (That's a "Miss Congeniality" reference)

Hey, what's up, everyone!
Things are pretty great here in my new area. . . Dahlonega! It's way country out here, and there are pretty much no blacks here, which is really different from my last area. I'm in the Sugar Hill Zone, which is closer to the top of Georgia and near the top of our mission boundaries. I've been here since Wednesday, and have spent most of the time driving around, visiting members, less-actives, and former investigators in the area. Not a ton of luck so far, but we are working on it! We met this guy, who is a recent convert, and his parents the day we got here. His parents were vaguely interested, but they ended up coming to church with their son yesterday! There may be something there!
Elder Harper is a good guy; he enjoys BYU football like I do, so we are getting along pretty well so far. He just got back from knee surgery, but is fit enough to do missionary work; he just can't ride a bike or lift anything heavy yet. It's pretty nice to have a car, because things are pretty spread out here! We are near the mountains here (which are more like hills when you compare them to ours lol) so it is pretty hilly.
Did BYU win? I haven't heard anything about them. I did hear about the TCU Boise State game. Holy Cow! Good job, Nebraska; looks like they are keeping you in a job lol. 

I hope you get enough girls to come out and play ball, Mom and Shelby; Dad told me you guys may not have enough to play. It would be a bummer not to have a team. Go T-wolves! 

Good job in making the Sophmore team assistant! It's great to be involved in something with friends. You're a stud, Double D!  

I miss y'all, but I know I'm here for a reason, and that reason is good. Things will be different here than my last area, but it is where the Lord needs me to be. 

My e-mails will be a little shorter; the library I am e-mailing at has a timer of 45 minutes, so I'm typing really fast! Let me just say that I love y'all and miss y'all, and I hope things are going well for y'all! 

Hope work goes good, Mom. Feed the missionaries! 

Love, 

Elder Casey Guy Dickson

"I'm not prejudice, I hate everyone." (Casey did NOT say this)

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