Made it!

Kumusta Lahat!

My last week in Scottsdale was very bitter-sweet. I was super excited to get to travel to my original mission, speak the language I've been learning and meet tons of awesome new Filipino people! On the other hand, it was incredibly difficult to leave so many wonderful people in Scottsdale! The ward members and those we taught in Arizona had really worked their way into my heart, and I was found myself holding back tears during multiple farewells. In spite of the challenge of leaving, I was able to find some comfort in the great miracles the Lord had blessed Elder Smart and I with during the six weeks I was in Cave Creek. We were blessed to play a critical role in supporting a family going through very rough times. The Lord granted us the opportunity to help a man come back to church after a 47 year hiatus. By showing our faith going door to door for hours, the Lord saw fit to lead us to several people who were prepared to at least start down the path of His Gospel. So while I will miss Scottsdale dearly, I was at least able to leave in peace, knowing that the Lord had, does, and will continue to sustain me (and everyone who seeks to do his work)

The trip to the Philippines I guess marks the single longest day of my life. All in all, I think it was composed of 26 straight hours of flying, layovers and bus rides, followed by a full day in the Manilla MTC. Yes, back to the MTC... :P I also managed to time travel as well...I left Monday morning and arrived Wednesday morning... I'm still trying to figure that one out.  It feels a little weird being back in an MTC (with pretty much all of the people I knew in the Provo MTC nonetheless), but I'm hopeful that my experiences here will help me continue to grow before I depart for Baguio next Tuesday (American date). 

I'm out of time, but please take care and I'll have more times to write in the future!

Elder Dickison

Explosions Anyone?

"Are you able to go shooting on P day?  We have a great time blowing up bombs with AR-15's out in the dessert."

-Brother Driggs (ward missionary)

"We would love too! But we aren't allowed to go shooting sadly.... so we'll have to pass"

- Elder Smart and I

Missionary work in Cave Creek in a nutshell.

Anyways, this week we've seen some awesome progress made through miracles the Lord has provided. A couple of weeks ago, I was finally provided with a loaner bicycle from the Scottsdale Mission. However, due to the temperature and gigantic size of our area, Elder Smart and I have been rather hesitant to use our bikes. Finaly, (after being slightly told off...) we decided to follow our mission leaders' instructions and use the bikes. I don't think I've ever been as sweaty as that in my entire life...but blessings did result! We found were able to sit down and visit with a really interesting man. He's a retired playwright named Bruce with lots of questions about religion in general. We were able to give him a book of Mormon, discuss it with him and committ him to read it. We're hopeful that when we go back to visit again, good things will continue to come of it. :) Had we not been on bikes, Elder Smart and I would not have been in that area to meet Bruce, so it was a good opportunity for me to learn of the blessings of following the instructions of my leaders (obedience) even when it seems like they want me to end up as a bleached skeleton on the side of the road.

Member missionary efforts have also made an HUGE difference for us this week. The forequoted Brother Driggs and a couple other awesome members have done everything from coming with us on visits, going finding with us and bringing people to church for us! Because of these efforts, we were able to get a member to church who hadn't been since 1958! Proof that missionary-minded members can and do make all the difference in the work of bringing people unto God.

At long last, after weeks of hearing nothing, the visa news has started to trickle through. At least two of my MTC disrict-mates have had their visas approved, and another one has definitely not been approved yet. As of the writing of this letter, I still have yet to hear anything about my own status. I'm not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing...but I'm hopeful that I will at least have some more information soon. As before, I trust that whatever is meant to happen will happen. As with some things in life, the status of my visa is currently out of my control. So all there is to be done is trust in the Lord's plan and work my hardest to fulfill my calling.

Though it will require me to develop further patience and faith if I'm in Scottsdale for another 6 weeks (or longer), I am still so happy to be out serving God's children every day. Getting to know new people every day and seeing their awesome character traits in action has really helped to grow my love for the people here in Cave Creek. No matter when or why I leave this area, I will miss their smiling faces and funny quirks. Truly all of us are children of God with amazing beauty and potential. Never forget that. :) Take care until next week!

Love, Elder Dickison 

Pictures include:

1) The panorama of a lifetime from the top of Black Mountain

2) Biking in the desert...for fun :)

Addendum 1: I just got an email literally 37 seconds ago from the Scottsdale mission office saying that my visa is on the way! A travel itinerary has been issued, and I'm headed to the the Philippines next Monday the 20th! Yaa!

Fun in the Sun (or Monsoons)

Another week gone...another week passed...my oh my, how time flies so fast. This has been an interesting one though. Elder Smart and I have stopped teaching four of the people we were working with. The reasons for this range from simple flakiness to one of these people having a business deal with a member of the LDS church go sour. So our teaching pool has shrunk quite a bit. However, Elder Smart and I have been blessed to find several new people that we're hoping are better prepared to learn about the gospel. We're not entirely sure how interested most of these new people are, but we're going to give them the very best blast to the Spirit we can. :)

On a more exciting note, we finally got one of our people on date to be baptized! She's a 12 year old named Haven who's been working with missionaries for years now. Consequently, she's heard the missionary lessons many times, but hasn't wanted to be baptized due to anxiety. After much prayer and fasting on the part of Elder Smart and I, we were finally able to get her to commit to being baptized in December. Unfortunately, this means I probably won't be in Cave Creek to see it happen, but I am super happy for Haven, and grateful to God for this miracle. (Missionaries have been trying to do this for years, and I finally got to be a part of seeing it happen. :)

Last Monday evening, we had the most wild storm come through Cave Creek that I've ever seen. We were casually driving down a highway when we suddenly noticed very large looming dark clouds not too far away and a dust storm starting to form underneath. Then a gust of wind suddenly almost blasted our Toyota into the adjacent lane. Thankfully we arrived at our destination quickly and went inside before the worst of it hit. Shortly after sitting down inside a member's house, the wind was joined by a ridiculous downpour and a lightning bolt every second or so. This particular house had windows on all sides, so we had quite the light show: bolts flashing in front, to the left, behind, in front again, and to the right all in 5 seconds or less. The lightning continued after the rain had stopped, and we got back the car to head back to our apartment for the night. Suddenly a huge multi-pronged bolt split above us and struck around us on at least six different sides of the car simultaneously. Thinking I was clever, I rolled down the window and stuck my ear out to hear the thunder. BIG MISTAKE. 

This past week, I've been thinking and studying a lot on the process of gaining a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. For some of the people that we have stopped teaching recently, it seemed that they thought it was simply too much work to gain a testimony. As I've thought about it, I've recognized that there is some truth to their words, gaining a personal witness that the gospel is true isn't necessarily "easy". It requires effort. It is not an event. And no single event, no matter how powerful or memorable it is can produce a deep testimony. (See 1 Nephi 3:29-31) As Alma described in Alma 32, you must experiment (act) upon the word, or else your faith will never grow and you can never know with a certainty. As I though about the process of my own testimony building (which is ongoing) I realized that having powerful spiritual experiences wasn't what convinced me that the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints followed the truth. Rather, it was the fact that if I read, prayed and pondered with a truly sincere desire to know, the Spirit spoke to my heart every time I did so. That consistent feeling in my heart more than anything else is an undeniable witness to me that the gospel is true. But again, it requires reading, praying, pondering and acting on the things I've read. And doing it over and over again. So gaining a testimony is not like ordering a pizza for delivery, it's not going to be brought to you on a platter. But it is 100% possible to gain, and 200% worth gaining, because knowing and living the truth changes everything in life for the better. :)

Have a wonderful week and take care of yourself! Don't accidentally fall into a cactus! It hurts...

Love, Elder Dickison

Arizona is Little Peru...?

This past week has been an awesome one for missionary work in Cave Creek! As the summer months wind down, more ward members are returning and more people actually answer the door. Hallelujah! Elder Smart and I have picked up two new people that we are teaching/working with, one of which may turn into a whole family of new people! We're super hopeful that this trend will continue and we'll keep finding people who have been prepared to receive the restored gospel. :)

This week has also been pretty crazy activity wise. On Tuesday I attended my first zone conference, which I was asked (coughnotoptionalcough) to wear a suit to. Since, as a Philippines missionary, I was told not to bring a suit on my mission, I ended up borrowing one from Elder Smart. Thankfully he was gracious enough to lend it to me and we're roughly the same size. The conference itself was amazing. Good messages, good instruction and a tangible spirit made it worth being in a wool suit during a 118 degree Arizona day. 

On Saturday, the stake that I'm serving in held one of the most interesting events I've ever been a part of. Apparently the 28th of July is the Peruvian Independence Day, and having a very large Peruvian community in the stake boundaries, the stake decided to throw a full scale Peruvian celebration. No one had any idea how many people were going to show up since many of the invitations were sent out over Facebook. So, to be safe, the stake made food for about 250 people and set up tables and chairs for that number. You can imagine our surprise when about 480 people walked in the door, about half of whom were actually Peruvian. We really though we were in trouble at that point, but after a bunch of frantic scrambling for furniture (I think we were literally using every table and chair in the building) and a miracle to the effect of Jesus multiplying the fishes and loaves, there was enough seating and food for everyone. There was traditional clothing displayed, a legitimate Peruvian band was brought in and even church members who knew nothing about Peru were soon joining in dancing to the music. With the huge turnout, good interaction, and several missionary referrals obtained, the event became a smashing success.

Sunday I had the opportunity to speak in sacrament meeting for two of the three wards Elder Smart and I cover. One of the talks I had 15 days notice for and came well prepared. The second I was informed of 15 hours beforehand and ended up having no time to prepare for. Oh missionary life. :) I actually ended up just throwing my well prepared talk in a mental blender and then pouring the resulting idea smoothie out of my mouth for the second talk. This created a better flavor than expected (it's raining miracles!), though I still don't want to feel that unprepared for a talk ever again... Especially when, ironically, the subject I was speaking on was "Preparation" :P

Finally, this morning we went on an awesome hike up to some Native American ruins on a hill in our area. This particular hill also happens to be in one of the most heavily guarded communities in America, so we had a bit of help getting in. The Meyers (Yup, still those Meyers) happen to live on the side of this hill, so we called them up and got their permission to get in. Being so removed from outside people (like me), the ruins were pretty much untouched, and it was cool to see lots of ancient pottery and intact stone walls. The view was incredible at the ruins, making it worth the roughly hour climb.

All in all, it's been a great week for missionary work in Cave Creek. We are making real progress, and we are hoping to have one of the people we are working with on date to be baptized within the next week. I am so grateful to God for the blessings He has poured out upon Elder Smart and I, and I'm grateful for the support of each one of you. Please take care and have a wonderful week!

How to be Humbled in One Easy Step...

Well, after two weeks spent in the Scottsdale Mission, it feels like some parts of missionary life are becoming more normal. Yet somehow every day manages to throw another curve ball at me. It's probably for the best I suppose.... as has been reiterated to me a lot recently, the comfort zone is the enemy of improvement.

The people that Elder Smart and I interact with regularly with have come into clearer focus as we've worked this week. I've met most of the Ward members and leaders as well as the majority of the people we are teaching. The people we are teaching include a woman that writes a horse periodical, a woman with a pet pig, two single-mom families with difficult pasts and a couple wacky/crazy (literally) old men. As I have prayed for, planned for and worked with these people daily, I have truly felt God's love for them. They are His precious children, and I hope that I can help guide them to the gospel, which will bring them greater happiness and peace in their lives.

This week I've had a couple good lessons in patience and persistence. Almost daily I've been out knocking doors trying to find those who are willing to hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 99% of these attempts are met with some form of failure, ranging anywhere from getting yelled at to being handed a bottle of water and sent away. Interestingly, that 1% of people willing to listen almost always come at the very end of a long day of door knocking. Literally the last house we try. Had Elder Smart and I given up any sooner, we would have found no success. But persisting through to the very end of the time we have has made all the difference for us. This is a witness to me that God really is a good tutor, even if the journey of being taught is a hard one. 

On Thursday, I got to go on my first exchange with one of my zone leaders, Elder Macy. Since I am still unfamiliar with my area and missionary work in general, I assumed that I would be traveling to the zone leader's area where I would just be tagging along for the ride. But instead, they decided to send off Elder Smart for the day, leaving me to try and lead my area with Elder Macy who knows nothing about Cave Creek. What followed was in essence a very embarrassing day in which I realized I still know very little about anything out here. :P I became the designated driver of our vehicle with Elder Smart gone, something I had been hoping to avoid. Not knowing the complex street systems well, I was relying almost completely on Elder Macy to navigate. Only afterwards did I discovered that Elder Macy is universally regarded as the worst navigator in the entire mission. :P Needless to say we spent more time lost than found, and discovered some very strange parts of Cave Creek that even Elder Smart didn't know existed. Ultimately, we did get some good finding done and made it to our scheduled lesson. There were just a few (dozen) hiccups along the way. Again, the Lord is trying hard to teach me patience.

Last night, we traveled to our zone leader's area and spent the night with them. Then, at a horrible, unspeakable hour of the morning, we woke up, packed into our little Toyota Rav4 and drove to the tallest mountains in the valley: "Four Peaks". Unlike the oddly named "Three Peaks" of Cedar City, we actually found four very distinctive and very tall peaks to hike up. After run-ins with rabbits, coyotes, rattlesnakes, quails and roadside puking, we finally made it to the trail head. The hike was beautiful with lots of overlooks and blessed pine trees to make me feel at home. :) Unfortunately, we ended up taking a wrong turn that lead us to a rather vertical cliff face. Like the mountain goat I wish I was, I quickly scrambled up to the top of the cliff and turned around to find my hiking-mates looking at me like I had just pulled a motorcycle out of my backpack. Despite my best persuasion, I couldn't convince any of them to follow me, so I had to climb back down and be content having almost made it to the top. 

I hope you've had a wonderful week, and I will be praying that the Lord will bless you with what you need. If there is ever anything more specific that I can pray for for you, please let me know. Enjoy summer while it lasts!

Love, Elder Dickison.

Out of the Frying Pan, and into a Vat of Molten Gold

It's been almost a week and a half since my last proper P-day, and so much has happened that I hardly know where to start... I guess I'll try the beginning.

My last couple of days at the MTC were filled with many pictures and goodbyes. It was hard to leave the friends I made in my district and zone, but it was definitely time to go nonetheless. Travel to the airport was a bit crazy, but without any major hitches. I traveled with two Elders also waiting for visas to Baguio, and our flight was short but fine. After we had landed in Phoenix and met my new Mission President, we walked outside and I noticed a strange brown...wall...on the horizon. Looking more closely, I realized it was moving towards me. Having seen the movie Interstellar, and not particularly wanting to die, I decided to ask one of the Zone Leaders we were with what it was. "Oh, that. It's just a giant dust storm. It happens when huge monsoons hit the valley..." ...... 8O .....

Anyways, there was another flight of new missionaries coming in to Phoenix after us, so President Robinson left us with the Zone Leaders and sent us straight to work. I immediately helped teach a lesson over Skype, followed by some good old door to door tracting. By this time rain and winds were blasting down from the monsoon, drenching us and uprooting trees, cacti and umbrellas. We then learned that the other plane of missionaries was grounded in Vegas due to the monsoon, so we went and taught another lesson, were fed some crepes and did some more tracting. Finally, tired and rather damp, we made it back to the mission home and called it a night. So much for gradual entry into the mission field. :P

The next day started with some pictures and trainings, followed by the trainer/trainee assignments. I was paired with one Elder Spencer Smart from Pocatello, Idaho. Elder Smart is an awesome missionary, very enthusiastic and friendly. He's been in Arizona for about a year, though he's still slightly younger than me. (I guess I'm more ancient for a missionary than I thought) As I was grilling him for information about our area, he just kept laughing, saying that we have by far the strangest area in Arizona as a whole, not just our mission. I wasn't quite sure what to make of that, especially since there are multiple Native American reservation in our mission. Finally, we drove to the Cave Creek area, and as we were driving along I started to realize what Elder Smart was talking about. Suddenly every ninth car we passed was a Porsche, every 20th car we passed was a Ferrari and every 50th car was a Lamborghini. 8O. We took a brief drive through what Elder Smart called an "impoverished neighborhood" consisting of several dozen multi-million dollar mansions. 8O. Finally we got to our apartment, which we have to ourselves, and it was actually normal. (Phew).

And thus I realized that God had decided to place me in the absolute antithesis of the Philippines. Cave Creek is packed with extremely affluent white people living in gated or guarded communities, most of whom don't think much of the LDS missionaries. The Philippines is mostly packed with relatively poor brown people whose homes are humble and like Amercans in general. I guess I'm living proof that God has a sense of humor. :P

My days since then have been filled with plenty of tracting, interesting conversations, searching for people who aren't home and meeting some of the most unique people I could ever dream up. Last night I actually had a recap with Elder Smart to make sure I hadn't forgotten any of these people...so here we go. During the last week, I have met/talked to:

1) A legitimate professional DJ (one of our ward mission leaders) who uses the name "Whip-Dog" in his line of work.

2) A former MLB player (also a ward mission leader)

3) An Arabian Stallion breeder by the name of "Old McDonald" (Still not sure if his first name is actually Old or not...)

4) Stephanie Meyer (Yup, that Stephanie Meyer) and her family

Well, now that I've talked about basically everything that has nothing to do missionary work, I suppose I should probably get to that. Elder Smart and I have a small pool of people we are teaching / working with right now. A couple groups are families with children and teenagers who have not been baptized yet. Others include a retired businessman going through heart failure, a woman who writes a horse perodical, and a half Filipino woman (YES!) who I have yet to meet. So thankfully, we do actually have people to teach. Unfortunately, many of the people who live in Cave Creek are gone to their "summer homes" in the cooler parts of the country right now. And those people who are still here aren't exactly the most humble group on the face of planet Earth. So the missionary work is slow and sometimes frustrating, but not impossible. I trust that so long as Elder Smart and I work diligently and obediently, miracles will yet be worked and great good will come of our efforts. Already I have had the opportunity to testify to members and non-members of what I know to be true, and have felt the Spirit confirm my words. In spite of the challenges that do exist here in Cave Creek, so long as I can testify, invite and help others to learn of their Savior, I will have done what I set out to do.

So, that about sums it up. I have high hopes for the future of our three little wards here in Cave Creek, and plenty of work to do in the meantime.Thank you for taking the time to read through this small novel. I wish each of you a wonderful week! Thank you for your friendship, and I'll look forward to writing again next week. :)

Love, Elder Dickison

In our Lovely Desert...

Nope, that's not a misspelling- Desert, not Deser-et.​​ The gavel has finally fallen and I have been deemed unworthy to enter the promised land of the Philippines. Instead, I am being sent to the scorching desert where my agony may ascend like a flaming fire forever and ever... Just kidding...that's all a load of baloney. :P Except for the part where I'm headed to the desert. I found out this week that as of now, my visa to stay in the Philippines has not arrived. So I have been given a temporary reassignment to the Scottsdale, Arizona mission! There is still a very small chance that my visa could come in the next couple of days and I'd actually go straight to the Philippines; but much more likely than not, my destination next week will be one of the driest, hottest places on earth. Home sweet home! 

     Due to some recent changes in the way the Philippines issues visas, the process has become much longer and more difficult. For the last several months, the vast majority of missionaries headed there end up getting temporarily reassigned. Consequently, my reassignment isn't exactly surprising. Within my own district, only 3 of the 10 of us (as of now) are headed to the Philippines on Wednesday. Thankfully, one of my district-mates, Elder Christensen, has also been reassigned to Scottsdale, meaning I have a friend to travel with on Monday!

     Though I definitely wasn't hoping to get reassigned, I feel at peace with the situation. If I actually believe in the gospel I am preparing to preach, then I know that God has an absolute control of my visa situation. If it is His will that I should be in Philippines this upcoming week, then that is exactly where I will end up. But if on the other hand I am needed in Arizona, then that is where I am meant to be. As has been reiterated to me several times recently, my calling to serve as a missionary and representative of Jesus Christ is much more important than exactly where I serve or how long I'm there. And so, I choose to trust that where ever God chooses to send me, there is a purpose behind me being there. :)

     As far as other happenings go, this past week has had at least one interesting event. Our 4th of July was kind of an odd hodge-podge of completely normal MTC activities and a couple completely abnormal activities. We attended our normal classes, had regular meals and weren't allowed to dress any more patriotic than normal. (Not that that actually stopped the sisters in my district...) However, at 9 pm, after our final class of the day, we had a "Religious Freedom" devotional followed by watching the BYU firework show. The actual show was awesome, and a very nice break from normal MTC activities. It reminded me of the annual Summer Games firework show in Cedar City, though we were watching from a towering building instead of sitting on the grass right underneath the explosions. The fireworks ended around 11:30, much later than we had ever/will ever be permitted to stay up again and we headed to bed. Unfortunately we still had to get up at 6:30 the next morning... :P

     Thank you each for your friendship and kindness! I do so appreciate having people to write to. :) Every day that I'm able to spend as a missionary grows my testimony that God lives and guides the paths of His children. I feel His Spirit daily, and I cannot deny the witness I have received of the truthfulness of the restored gospel!  I know that God listens to those who speak to Him. Prayers offered with a sincere heart are heard and answered! So please, if you feel lonely, downtrodden or stuck, ask your Eternal Father for what you desire, and He will grant unto you what you need. Never doubt the power of the Master of the Universe. :) My love goes out to you all. May you find peace and joy in all the good that you do. 

Sincerely, Elder Dickison

Open Your Mouth! - Just don't jinx yourself...

 During this past week, I have been trying to focus on teaching first and foremost by the Spirit. During my lessons with my "investigators," I have often felt rather panicked in the process of frantically trying to understand what the investigator is telling us and how in the world to answer them. Due to this stress, the Spirit has sometimes felt less present than I would have liked. At one point during our normal class activities, one of my instructors said something to the effect of "It's more important to speak with the Spirit than it is to speak perfect or even really good Tagalog." I have tried to take these words to heart, and have noticed some awesome blessings as a result. Instead trying to cram as much input and output Tagalog into my brain as possible during the lesson, I have been focusing on keeping a continual prayer for guidance and power through the Spirit in my heart and mind instead. As I've practiced this skill, I truly have felt a huge increase in the Spirit witnessing of the truths that Elder Wilder and I are sharing. At one point, I swear the feeling just about blasted me out of my chair. Additionally, my Tagalog really hasn't gotten any worse during the lessons either, so I suppose I'm really supposed to learn to trust in God to guide my words, instead of coming up with everything myself. Not something that I'm necessarily used to or good at, but something that I definitely want to continue working on. Besides, God is much better at speaking to the heart than I am.

 Last Sunday, the new leadership assignments were being given, and lo and behold Elder Wilder and I are now our Zone Leaders. (We completely jinxed ourselves over that one. Should have kept our mouths closed...) Since my district was the only one not leaving, everyone therein received a leadership assignment of some kind, so we have all suddenly acquired more responsibilities, which have proven to be both challenging and a blessing. Monday through Wednesday morning, we were saying goodbye to the members of our zone who were headed out into the field. This was really a pretty sad experience for me, since I very likely won't be seeing any of them again (none were headed to my same mission) and I really liked all of them. There were many hugs exchanged (only with the Elders) and somehow Elder Wilder and I ended up with absolutely copious amounts of snacks as the leaving missionaries tried to get rid of all their perishable food at once. I'll miss all the departed missionaries a lot, but I'm so happy they get to go out and fulfill their purpose as missionaries of the Lord!

Wednesday afternoon, my district had the opportunity to host brand new missionaries incoming to the   MTC, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I got to know three new people, one of which turned out to be in my zone. Thankfully none of the Elders I hosted had a 100 lb suitcase, which was apparently a problem for Elder Wilder. Wednesday  evening, we were in charge of giving an orientation presentation to the almost 40 new missionaries in our zone. The meeting actually went over quite well despite it both the presenters and the listeners being quite pagod (tired). This morning, we were able to take the new missionaries to the Provo temple for the first time, which was extremely nice after the many preceding moments of craziness. Despite all of the running around Elder Wilder and I have had to do with our new responsibilities, I have enjoyed getting to know my new zone members little by little. I can remember most of their (last) names now, and I'm looking forward to getting to spend more time with them. They have been pretty obedient and easy to work with thus far, so I really have been blessed in that way.


  As I've pondered on the best way to try and help and support these new missionaries, I've realized that it is going to require me getting out of my comfort zone, talking to people more that I normally might and really trying to get to know each of them as much as possible. As a somewhat quiet and calm person by nature, this is not exactly one of my strong suits. But I know that as a missionary, central to my purpose is helping, loving and uplifting others, especially those whom I am supposed to lead. So I have committed to open my mouth, even when I'm tired or don't really want to try and chat. I definitely won't be perfect at it, but I'm going to try my very best. Likewise, I know that each of you have people in your life who are in need of your personal helping, loving and uplifting influence. You have so much potential to do good, and I would hate for any of that potential to go unused. So I invite you to talk to everyone you can; take time to talk, be friendly and be kind. If you do this, I know the Lord will bless you for your efforts to follow His example in loving all of God's children.
    
Thank you for any and all prayers and good thoughts that have been sent my way. I hope you each have a wonderful week! 

Love, Elder Dickison

Awesome Experiences and an Uncertain Future...

 I'll admit, I had originally planned to just title each email with the week of my mission that had elapsed, i.e. week 3, week 4, etc.... But then I realized that would require me to count slowly to 100+ weeks, and I just don't think I can do that to myself...so ya.

    Well, I've almost reached the halfway point of my MTC stay, and while I feel like I've learned so much, the more I learn, the more I realize that really learning to be a missionary is going to be a long process. A process that both excites me, slightly terrifies me and is stretching me in new ways every day. But in the midst of all the many unknowns, I trust that the Lord will help me to perform His work.

     On Monday of this week, I had a small but awesome miracle occur. My district was having our first experiences teaching someone who was not a fake investigator. The MTC had several local volunteers (Tagalog speaking Returned Missionaries) come and we were supposed to teach/help them...sa Tagalog. Elder Wilder and I had prepared a pretty good lesson on Faith... which we didn't really end up using much. Neither of the RM sisters we taught really felt they needed any help as far as faith was concerned, so we improvised, relying on ang Espiritu Santo to save our discussion from self-destruction. While neither of the discussions were perfect, one of the RM's shared with us some struggles she was having trying to help her younger sister. This younger sister didn't have much of a testimony and the RM we were talking to was making efforts to help her want a testimony. While I didn't have much useful advice to offer, I did feel led by the Spirit to promise this RM sister that her efforts would not be a waste of time, and that something good would come of it. In retrospect, that promise sounds kind of vague, but it seems that that was what she needed to hear at that time. A little later that day, I heard through the grapevine that that RM had really felt impressed and uplifted by the promise the Spirit instructed me to give, and it was a huge witness to me that I can and will be guided in this work.

     As frustrating as trying to learn to teach a complex gospel in a somewhat bizzare language sometimes is, I have truly been blessed with wonderful teachers. Yesterday, my district was having a really rough time dealing with high expectations and feeling they they were constantly falling behind. I myself wasn't doing too bad, but I was really feeling for my friends. The stress and pressure was gnawing pretty badly at them. Thankfully our teacher perceived that most of the district was having a bad day, and completely turned the planned schedule around so we could discuss what was going on and so that he could offer some advice and support. This change of plans greatly impressed me as I observed that this teacher understood his role as a mentor and friend just as much as that of a teacher. While the challenges ahead are still daunting, I am so grateful to have been blessed with wonderful people to guide me along the way.

     This upcoming Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, everybody in my zone, excluding my own district, will be headed out from the MTC. Most of those leaving unfortunately haven't gotten their visas to the Philippines yet, so they were reassigned temporarily somewhere in the States. I'm hoping my district has a little better luck when we leave. With the loss of most of the people currently in my zone comes the blessing of getting new missionaries to fill and....overfill the vacant spaces. There's about 24 missionaries leaving from my zone the coming week, and supposedly there's going to be around 40 brand new missionaries taking their place in our zone. YIPE! Ordinarily I would simply be excited to get to know lots of new people, but with the way things stand, there's only two Elder companionships in my district- mine and a trio. This means there is a 50% chance Elder Wilder and I will end up as Zone Leaders training a whopping load of new missionaries. We've tried to figure out who we could pay off to guarantee this doesn't happen, but thus far we haven't had any success. I guess life is never boring when you're in the service of the Lord...for better or...not quite as better. :) Regardless of what happens, I trust that the Lord will guide me and those I serve with.

     I hope you have all had a wonderful week, and have been blessed in the good things you have each done. This upcoming week I invite you to look for blessings that come into you life every day. I am coming to understand more and more that the more I notice the hand of the Lord in my life, the happier I feel about it. I have faith that this is true for everyone, so please take time to notice the things you are being blessed with. Peace be with you til next week. :)

Love, Elder Dickison

P.S. I apologize for the lack of pictures; the computer lab I'm using to write is not being very friendly towards my SD card. Hopefully next week I'll have it figured out. 

Day 10- Never a dull moment at the MTC :)

Well, to sum up the MTC in two simple words, Holy Cows! Holy because the Spirit truly is amazingly strong here, and every day is filled will great opportunities to learn the work of the Lord. Cows because there is waaay tooo much dairy food available and tempting at the MTC.

Anyway, it has been a wonderful week for me here in Provo. Definitely a difficult one as well, but mostly difficult in ways that have helped me to grow. 

Almost every day my companion, Elder Wilder, and I have had the...ummm...opportunity to teach a practice investigator named Mary Grace. This has been simultaneously an incredibly difficult and highly instructive experience. Our study of the language has come along to the point the we can speak a lot Tagalog words, pero forming complete Tagalog sentences is still quite beyond us. Just about everything in Tagalog grammar is reversed compared to English grammar, making translating English sentences in Tagalog quite the trick. I can tell I'm improving every day, but for the time being, speaking anything meaningful is quite difficult. 

     The first real lesson Elder Wilder and I tried to teach, we were determined to try and speak only Tagalog to our "investigator". It seemed like a reasonable goal since we were able to speak pretty well as we practiced the lesson in advance. When we got into the lesson however, everything we had practiced vanished out of our heads and neither of us had any idea what to say. It didn't help that we could only barely understand what Mary Grace was saying to us. Needless to say that lesson essentially turned into the longest staring contest of my life, and I'm pretty sure the MTC employee playing the part of Mary Grace was done with us after only two of the twelve minutes the "lesson" lasted. Ugh...never again...  Thankfully, every lesson after that one has gone much better. Elder Wilder and I now speak very much Tag-lish - mostly Tagalog with just enough English thrown in to make sense. Mary Grace has been slowly but surely progressing as we've taught her about God, prophets, ang Aklat ni Mormon and the Restoration. I have very quickly had to learn to pray constantly during the lesson for the Spirit to guide our clumsy words and touch Mary Grace's heart, in spite of our inadequacies. 

     During the past week, I've been able to listen to multiple amazing talks that have uplifted and taught me. Sunday evening, I was able to watch a devotional given by Elder Bednar during a past Christmas at the MTC. The talk, entitled "The Character of Christ" was easily one of the most profound things I have ever heard, and I enjoyed it greatly. For our Sunday devo, Sister Sherri Dew spoke to us and Tuesday we were blessed to hear from Elder Gong (the Apostle). Both gave awesome messages, and I enjoyed getting to be in the same room as an apostle once again. A recurring theme throughout all these messages has been one of turning outward to love and serve others, rather than turning inwards when things get difficult. While this is one of the trickiest things to accomplish in this life, I know that it is possible, and even essential to work on developing this characteristic every day. As I've been learning, this is what it means to truly follow the Savior. 

     As I continue to get to know my companion, Elder Wilder, I am continually impressed by the many dynamics of his character. He has learned a lot from his diversified life experience working different jobs and meeting lots of different kinds of people. But most of all, I can feel that he has a firm testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel and truly desires to share the truth he has obtained. This makes me so happy for him and grateful to have been given an awesome companion.

All of the members of my MTC district are headed to the Philippines, though only three of us are going to Baguio. Other destinations include the Urdaneta and Kawayan missions, as well as a couple others I can't remember the name of at the moment. My zone is also all Tagalog speaking, with probably a dozen or so different mission destinations. Currently our zone in composed of about 26 or so missionaries, with most of the having been at the MTC for 3 and a half weeks. Two and half weeks from now, Everyone in the zone except my district will leave, and apparently about 40 new missionaries will be joining us. So my little district will be training a huge pool of new missionaries. Yay!

     Well, I've probably rambled on quite long enough, so I'll close. I love being here at the MTC- it is incredibly difficult, but I can feel myself growing daily, and the Spirit testifies to me daily that I am where I'm supposed to be. :) I'm so grateful for each of you, and I pray every day that the Lord will watch over you.

Sincerely,
Elder Dickison

Day 3- I'm Alive!

 Friday, June 1st, 2018

I'm still alive! :P I haven't died since yesterday! But more than that, I am actually doing pretty amazingly well.  The first few days here have been a pretty crazy whirlwind. Apparently things are supposed to get calmer and more organized in the coming week, but thus far the schedule has been all over the place. Honestly, I think the missionaries would be better off if they were on a normal schedule their first week and then they started throwing other meetings in...but what do I know? :P  

After parting ways with (the family) I found myself in a classroom with an MTC teacher, Brother Hill, rattling off nothing but Tagalog at me. It really was like the first day of German class all over again. My district continued to file in, until we had all of us- 3 sister companionships, my Elder companionship and an Elder trioship. Apparently trios are much more popular than I thought, since I think I see about 50 or so trioships every day. My companion's name is Elder Wilder and we get along quite well; he's willing to work, thoughtful, and patient.

 The food honestly reminds me quite a bit of the cafeterias at USU...not mind blowing, but not the elementary cafeterias either. I haven't gotten sick from it yet, but only time will tell. We did get to attend the temple this morning, and I got to see the final temple movie that I was missing out on before. It was wonderful to be in the temple again so soon. 

The language study has been intense. There's a huge list of words to memorize and Brother Hill has wasted no time in throwing confusing grammar concepts at us...but I still have faith that I'll be able to learn the language one day at a time. Thus far, I have loved the spiritual strength and peace I feel.

Thank you again for your messages!

Love, Elder Dickison