And the Rains Came Tumbling Down

Week #17

Four months already. I'll be home in no time.

Service is slowing down. I'm actually wearing a shirt and tie today which feels kind of normal. 

As of tomorrow, I will have finished training and will get a new companion, Elder Hanks. All I know is that my Zone Leader trained him about a year ago, he bakes bread every Monday, and that November will be a great month to have him as a companion. I'll meet him tomorrow and Elder Yarman will go to the distant land of Greeley. I also don't get a car at all next transfer. I'll still be in Lafayette, but on bike the whole time. I think I could lose 15 pounds.

Things are slowly returning to normal. There's much less trash on the streets in Boulder (though there are still some badly damage areas) and we've been able to teach a few lessons this week. 

I don't know if I've mentioned Paige before, but she has been an investigator for a very long time. When I first got here, she never kept commitments, was impossible to meet with, and was never busy. . . These last couple weeks, she has actually texted us to set up appointments, read passages from the Book of Mormon within a couple days of meeting with her, and been much more engaged in the lessons. If she stays this excited and starts coming to church, she could be baptized by October 26.

Sorry, I don't have more stories. I do have some pictures though!

Elder Dickson

The backyard of one of the houses we helped.

Elder Dionicio and Elder Yarman

Lots of missionaries.

Sister Woessner very cold and an undamaged backyard.

Mountain of carpet and Elder Lund.

My battle-scar. Floorboards can be nasty. 

Big white buffalo.

Elder Greer (owns big white buffalo)

My new favorite flavor. I can't wait to try the normal strength stuff. 

A place called Left Hand Creek. It doesn't usually have this much water.

Left Hand Canyon

This was a paved road. 

The first part of the road. 

I guess this was a bridge. 

Noah's Ark

Week #16

Elder Dickson is just so busy! Here is the email he sent his mom today.

More flood relief this week. Between ripping out drywall, carpet, door frames and other stuff, we've had no other time for anything else. No special stories this week. I don't really have anything to say at all. This was a very exhausting week and it all kind of blends into one day. I've worn a tie twice since the flooding started and my jeans have been washed about five times in just this week. 

Give Said the Little Stream

Week #15

What a week. Hopefully I'll dry out sometime next month.

I did hear Colorado made national headlines, but it obviously wasn't Lafayette. We've had rain here, but only a couple people in our ward had to leave their homes or had any trouble at all. Bishop Poulson's house is on top of a hill so we haven't had any problems at all. We even sleep with the window open.

We have spent most of the week in P-day clothes ripping up carpets, cleaning basements, digging trenches and sandbagging. I never had my camera with me, but Elder Yarman got some pretty great pictures. I'll see if I can get some. 

The worst flooding has been in Boulder, so our whole zone has spent the last three days down there helping whoever we can find. Saturday and Sunday were spent largely in one very large house just moving all of their furniture and carpet out. Twenty-two missionaries wading through a basement with water up to the mid-calf carrying waterlogged couches, bookcases, sounds systems, mattresses and computers is an impressive thing to see. Especially when they're capable of ripping out an entire basement in twenty minutes. I'm pretty sure it was more impressive than Ammon chopping off all those arms. If there's ever a book chronicling the missionary work of the last dispensation, we should be in it.

We also got to make a pretty awesome promise to a recent convert earlier this week. She's been having a lot of financial trouble and we asked her if she had paid any tithing since her baptism and she said no. We taught her that the Lord will bless us when we pay, and even when we have next to nothing, we should pay 10% of next to nothing. One of the things they told us in the MTC is that we have jurisdiction over our areas and that we can receive revelation and even prophecy as directed by the Spirit. I am sure that this was one of those times. Both Elder Yarman and I were impressed to tell her that if she set aside 10% of her next paycheck (which should arrive today), she would be able to take care of herself and her brother, pay her son a debt of $700, and meet all of her other needs if she would pay tithing. It was something I wasn't really sure that I could promise something that specific, but when I started to explain that we could make these kinds of promises, Elder Yarman picked up and continued with the exact same thing I was going to say. Neither of us has ever had an experience like that and we are both very excited to see how it turns out. 

I think those are the stories we really have for this week. Lots of mud, water, service, and soreness, but I'm loving it. Also, two more people from my MTC district got their visas this week and will be going to Brazil on the 30th. I am getting just a little bit excited about mine.

Love you all,

Elder Dickson

The Sorrow for a Soul

Week #14

This last week has been one of trying experiences. Once again, most of our appointments have fallen through and we rarely get more than a "maybe" for rescheduling. We did have one woman whom we were very hopeful about, but that didn't turn out so well.

Leslie had been attending church in Lafayette for quite a while and most of the ward already knew her. We found out she wasn't a member and tried to set up a meeting with her. After a few weeks of a lot of scheduling issues, we finally got a meeting with her last Thursday. We learned that she had been investigating the Church for seven years and knew it was true, she just hadn't [committed to] baptism. That was my first doubt. She said she knew the Church was true, but had put forth no effort of her own to be baptized. We went over the baptismal interview questions just to see where she stood and found [that there were some obstacles]. We said that we would have to meet again to make sure she had been taught everything and set her with a baptismal date.

We met again Sunday morning. Elder Yarman had me address [the issues. After the discussion, it was clear that she was not ready for baptism.] She also accused us [unjustly]. . . and said . . . it felt like we didn't want her. She then decided to leave and didn't stay for Sacrament Meeting. I will admit I cried.

As horribly as the meeting went, I did reaffirm that I do have a testimony. As Alma and Nephi would weep for the people when they rejected the truth, I realized I wasn't crying because she had hurt me. I cried because we had presented her with truth and scripture in the most loving way we knew how and she rejected it. Though my body hasn't been changed like John's and the Three Nephites', it is incredible how the first real sorrow of my mission was for the [soul] of another. (3 Nephi 28:9)

The words of the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants are very much a comfort in this situation.

"If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations (...) and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." D&C 122:6-7

Though I don't exactly have all the problems listed in these verses, I feel the promise still stands. I get the feeling that after having such a difficulty over something so small, I think teaching larger issues such as the Law of Chastity will be easier. I know that seems backwards, but people seem to have a harder time giving up small things and will fight more for them. 

I'm trying to take more pictures. I really am. I just always forget I have my camera in my bag. I did get one of George Miller though. He drives a Harley, is a former drug addict, is a High Priest, Webelos Leader, Family history Consultant, the best cook in the ward and is preparing to [receive] his endowment in the next month or so. Basically, he's a wonderful example of what we should be.

Love you all,

Elder Dickson

Service and Study

Week #13

Yesterday was Labor Day and the libraries were closed. Sorry.

Last week was pretty good. We got a new investigator that we were supposed to teach today, but he just cancelled a little bit ago. The ward is getting more excited about missionary work and just today we met with the Ward Mission Leader to set up a ward mission plan. Make sure you know what your ward mission plan is. 

We are only allowed to write letters on P-day (Monday). I did write Katie and Emma. Hopefully they showed up last week.

Nothing really incredible happened this week. Elder Yarman is the District Leader now and I'm almost done with training. Our days are getting more difficult to fill with appointments and often we only get to teach at dinners. There are a few reasons for that. One is that I still have to do four hours of study and we have service to do. Most of what we do now is in T-shirts and jeans. Today we just trimmed the lawn for an inactive member and actually got a referral from her. Ammon served before preaching. I guess that's what I'm supposed to do. 

If you haven't already visit, biblevideos.org. They are powerful. We've actually started using them for some of our teaching. 

I forgot my camera again, but I do have some pictures to send. Not many, but a few. Maybe I'll take even more.

Bye for now,

Elder Dickson