Que Semana (What a Week)

Week #41

Que semana. Eu acho que eu vou mandar fotos só. Também, a maioria das fotos foram tiradas por outras pessoas. Eu ainda preciso de ajuntar todas. Tenham paciência comigo. Tá bom. Vamos continuar. 
(What a week. I think I'll send photos only. Also, most of the photos were taken by other people. I still need to gather all. Bear with me. Okay. Let's continue.) 

Tenho muitas fotos dos batismos também. Não vou mandar todas. Levaria muito tempo assim. 
(I have many pictures of the baptisms too. I will not send any. It would take too long.)

Ingrid and Maria (Sister and Mother of Jucélia) were baptized this week. 

Pictures to come. High quality makes things more difficult. I also have to share my photos with other missionaries. I won't be writing very much today.

My zone. Names left to right. Back: Elder Zatti, Elder Simpson, Elder Vieira, Elder Ryberg, Elder Koopman, Elder Lagos, Elder Gonçalves, Elder Thomazinho, myself.

Front: Elder Day, Sister Cardoso, Sister Gates, Sister Aravena, Sister Lourenço

 Elder Day (Today is his last day as a missionary) and myself.

Semana dos Milagres (Week of Miracles)

Week #40 

Suffice it to say this week should be recorded as guided by the Hand of the Lord. Deixa-me explicar.

Every mission has what is called a Standard of Excellence. This standard is established by the mission president as an ideal for every companionship. Basically, an area firing on all cylinders should meet this standard. The number of lessons taught, if we had a baptism, how many contacts, how many progressing investigators, everything. If our numbers at the end of the week are good enough, and it's hard to do (exhausting really), it's called Semana de Excelência (Week of Excellence). It means working hard all day, everyday of the week and a lot of help from members. It takes a lot of time.

Our goal this week was Semana de Excêlencia. We thought everything would be fine, but what happened? We lost one day to a Zone Conference and four hours of travel. We lost another afternoon traveling to another area (two hours away) so my companion could do an interview. We spent the night there and returned the next morning just in time for the Zone Leaders to arrive and do and exchange. I went to another area with a greenie  (a brand new missionary) for one part of the afternoon and came back to my area about 7 P.M. 

In short, we lost two-and-a-half days of our week and still had a baptism, two confirmations and uma Semana de Excelência. Milagres? Acho que sim.

Baptism is a very good word and a very good feeling. This week we baptized Jucélia. I think I've talked about her before, but she really is incredible. First, her mother and sister were not ready for baptism, but she decided to go ahead and be baptized herself. Second, while she and her mother were at church, her mother (who is diabetic) started to feel strange (turned out her blood sugar was high) and went home with the second counselor of the branch and his wife. Jucélia continued to worry, but stayed at church and was baptized. 

Now, her mother and sister have an example to follow (they liked the pictures of the baptism) and will be baptized this week. We also may have an opportunity to teach her brother who is in prison and rethinking some things. We still don't know if we can do that, but it should be interesting. I love this family. They even gave me socks for my birthday. 

It's also very possible that I won't get any pictures of Jucélia's baptism. All the photos are on Elder Vieira's camera and it's been doing some weird things lately. 

Other photos.

We spent the day with the ward mission leader and found some really cool places. 

The sandy place is all sand taken from some small lakes that's sold to be used in cement. The lakes are the absolute clearest thing I have every seen. Very clean water. I don't have a good picture of the water.

More pictures coming. 

That's what I've got this week. 

Elder Dickson

Pouco Tempo (little time)

Week #39 

The week of Carnaval. (Carnaval which almost contains the word carne, which means flesh. It all makes sense now.) I learned a couple things. First, nothing happens in Osório and all the people leave. All the stores close and the places that have computers too. Afternoon in the center of the city and there is nobody in the streets, nobody in the houses and no more than five cars parked on a street.

So, basically, we're cramming in email between a lesson and lunch. Only one short email this week. 

Baptism on my birthday didn't happen, but they will be baptized this Sunday. 

I have photos, but for lack of time, I'll send them next week. 

Lots of crazy people in the streets. It really is incredible how clueless people can be. I think the funniest thing is when we clap hands (yes, Mom, we clap hands at the gate and never knock doors. There are gates and fences around properties. To get the attention of the home owner they have to stand at the gate and clap) and a person and something like this happens.

Missionary: (. . .) may we explain with more detail?

Potential investigator: I'm sorry. I'm not part of this religion.

Missionary: Great. That's why we're here. May we talk?

Potential Investigator: But I'm not part of this religion.

Missionary: Exactly. If you were, we wouldn't be here.

Potential Investigator: (Annoyed) I'm not part of this religion.

Missionary: (Pause, wondering how a person could be so confused) Alright. Bye.

You may think I'm joking, but this happened yesterday. The Gospel makes a difference. Without the Spirit to guide us, even intelligent people can be unintelligent. I cannot count how many times we have taught somebody about authority and baptism, they agree, and when invited to be baptized say they already have been. No wonder we teach by principle and gaining a testimony. If we tried to teach by logic (and I have tried) even the well-versed and studious have poor responses. 

I think I understand why the promise is that as missionaries our words will not be confounded, not that our words will confound people. (D&C 100: 5-8) They're already confounded by their own philosophies. Our job is to help them understand. With great knowledge (and knowledge is power) comes great responsibility. 

Até mais

Elder Dickson

Batismo!

Week #38

Baptism is such a good word.

Baptism this week. Yesterday in fact. And what a crazy day it was. Setting up interviews, bringing people to church, my companion going to another area to prepare another baptism, Getting three baptisms from two cities to happen at the same lake (it's more of a huge puddle. Kind of like Utah Lake.) I slept well last night. 

Just a little bit about Brazil. Nobody listens to Brazilian music. Almost all the music you hear in stores or public places is American. Anyway, back to baptism.

Everybody looks good in white. 

Photo left to right: Elder Vieira, Elder Dickson, Maria Gorete, Amanda, Regina, Gabriel, Tamara, Elder Lagos, Elder Day, Jeferson (Branch Mission Leader)

I have seen several missionaries go home early. It is hard work. The scripture stories don't talk very much about the time Ammon spent guarding sheep, walking the hot sun, cleaning clothes and missing home. A lot of people think that, because missionary work is the Lord's work, He will do everything. It doesn't work that way. We are instruments in his hands. We are tools, but imagine how difficult it would be to build a house if your hammer decided it didn't want to be a hammer. 

We are called to labor. Think of the three places we hear the word labor. Working outside, giving birth, and missionary work. Labor means hard. Labor means hot sun. Labor means you are tired. Labor hurts. Sometimes it means you will bleed. Labor means we are stronger after. 

If we endure well, God will exalt us on high. That's the promise. Endure means things will be difficult.

I wasn't ready to labor. I am almost 20 years old and have spent almost 9 months on a mission and still don't feel like I've worked hard enough. Many are called but few are chosen. Many are called on a mission, but few fulfill their assignment. It is difficult and worth the labor. How great is our joy in bringing just one soul to repentence? Greater than all the labor of two years. 

The strength comes from the Lord. We cannot serve missions alone. The people who try don't succeed. If you want to serve a mission, seek strength from the Lord.

Time for my birthday wish. Please please please please remember that missionaries are called specifically to preach the gospel of Christ. We are not called to be home teachers, to retain members we've never met, or to meet every request of the Elders Quorum President. One of the things they said in the MTC is that we should not fulfill the responsibilities of members. Home teachers, we will not make visits for you. 

President Hinckley taught that three things are necessary if somebody is to remain firm in the Church. A friend, a calling, and nourishment of the good word of God. Missionaries cannot provide two of these three things. Members, please, welcome the new members. Be their friends. Allow them to have some part in the Kingdom.

That's what I've got this week. 

Tchau

Elder Dickson

P.S. My companion has only been a member for three years and is one of the best missionaries I know.

Life in the Trenches

Week #37

Last week I had something I wanted to talk about. Today I have no idea. How about what happened this week?

We've met a lot of wonderful people these last two weeks. People who accepted invitations to church and to read and pray. I do have a favorite family though.

I met this family a few weeks ago with Elder Lagos on a companion exchange. The entire family is women, so we've had to teach some lessons from the door, but we are almost certain that they will be baptized.

The first is Maria. She's about 55 and has very simple desires and a very simple understanding. She's also a stereotypical short, Latina grandmother. She loves to feed people and says things in the funniest ways.

Second, Ingrid. She's about 26, short, round, always happy and is just like her mother. They talk about the same things in the same way and understand the principle of faith more than anything else. They also call us padres.

Third, Jocelia. She's the miracle of the family. She's about 20, short, dark, attractive and intelligent. (One of the members in the branch is already thinking how she would look in a white dress.) She is also the one who understands why the Gospel needed to be restored. When we invited M--- to be baptized, she responded that she had already been baptized and didn't think she could be again. Before we could say anything, Jocelia, very loudly, " Mas Mãe, precisaser feito com autoridade." ( But Mother, it needs to be done with authority. )

The three want to be baptized and we marked a date for the first of March. One of my favorite days. What birthday present could be better than three baptisms? I'm excited.

I don't know what else there is to say this week. I spent a lot of time working in other areas this week, so I didn't do all that much in my own area. Good week though. Something that one of the missionaries in the Fort Collins mission said is that missionaries should be learning something every time they teach a lesson. We only have four lessons and we always teach the same one, but somehow we learn something. You can learn something too. Remember, seek ye learning.

It's getting colder! This is probably the best news. These last few weeks were horrible. I don't think we had a day below 35° and the humidity just made things worse. Most days were closer to 40°(for all you Americans, that's about 104°.) This week, it looks like rain and nothing above 30°. Que bênção. I might even use a jacket or long-sleeve shirt. We're even using blankets at night now. 

Now we just need hot water. Yeah, the water is the same temperature as the pipes and our shower head is broken. If you want hot water, you buy a shower head that heats up the water. Ours doesn't work anymore. The morning showers could stand improvement.

Here's a photo from our balcony yesterday morning. 

Love you all.

Elder Dickson

Seek Ye Learning

Week #36

Great, I wrote everything after this first paragraph first. Sorry if it feels a little scattered. It is just a little bit stream of consciousness, but I ended saying what I wanted. Hopefully it makes sense.

First, my sister finally had an out of Utah experience. (She went to Washington DC for a youth leadership convention. Her first real experience outside of our Utah “bubble”.) Parents already know about the dangers of the world and the difficulty of raising children. I don't know that second part, but the first is obvious. The problem is we cannot be protected our entire lives. We must pass through the refiner's fire.

The walled garden is nice. It is a very safe environment and if we stay in it, we will see a lot of beautiful flowers, just as Cosette in Les Miserables spent her teenage life in the well-tended and protected home of Jean Valjean. Readers will notice however, that she was almost completely unaware of the pains of her guardian, the struggles of  Marius and the other students and far from the hard life of Eponine. From what I remember, Cosette didn't change much. She dreamed of a castle on a cloud and never really saw anything else. This is not our purpose.

The bubble is wonderful for raising children, but, after guiding by the hand and teaching in every moment, Christ sent His disciples and apostles into the world as sheep among wolves. We must leave the bubble. We left the safe castle on a cloud and the presence of our Heavenly Father to come to this dangerous Earth with the purpose to learn and progress. If we are to become eternal parents we must know how to choose. I believe that agency is much more than a gift from God. I believe that the proper use of agency is requisite to become as he is. 

Why is agency so important in the Plan of Salvation? We learn that we come here to be tested. That we will receive our reward according to our use of agency. Those who use this agency to follow the Gospel of Christ and complete the Ordinances of Salvation will receive all that the Father hath. Stay with me just a little longer.

Our purpose is to become Gods. We must understand choice and the influences it has. We, as eternal parents, will make many choices that will heavily influence the potential of our children. We must understand agency. One who never made a choice is not prepared to make choices for others. I believe this is why we had to leave the presence of our Father. We must understand eternal consequences before we can be eternal beings.

The plan of the devil was to deny us our agency. Now, he strives to prevent our success in the Plan of the Father. What tools does he use? Attacks on our ability to choose. Addictions, oppressors, lies to misdirect the use of this gift and sometimes even whispers that we no longer have a choice. His very motive is to prevent our eternal progression. The motives of the Father are immortality and eternal life. Why is this important?

The Father did not send us alone into this world. He gave us His Son. He gave us a guide, The Holy Ghost. He gave us a second chance in the Spirit world. He gave us repentance, the Gospel, the Church, and the scriptures. He gave us His power to exercise upon the Earth. This same power by which He cast Lucifer from Heaven is held by the worthy men of His kingdom. With so many testimonies, who can doubt that God is our Loving Heavenly Father?

So why did I spend so much time on just one subject? I think it's important. This is the message that missionaries carry. This is what was restored. The Plan of Salvation to teach us why we exist and where we go. The Commandments to teach us what we need to do. The Gospel of Jesus Christ to teach us how. The Restoration of the Priesthood, the power of God to make it possible. 

These are the missionary lessons: The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Commandments. This is Preach My Gospel. We are commissioned of Jesus Christ. We teach as one having authority. We do not teach as the Scribes or the Pharisees, nor do we teach as the Catholics, Evangelicals, or Philosophers. We teach as representatives of Christ. We teach with authority and we will not be confounded by false doctrines and strivings of men.

Third Nephi is filled with the words of Christ and if we were to count which words are said most, I would not be surprised if the phrases Repent, Come unto Christ, and be baptized were the most stated. This is what we say as missionaries. We stand in the place of Christ and speak His words. 

Wow, one hour and ten minutes and I haven't even finished one email. I'll wrap it up now. 

Fellow missionaries (that means members too) we have taken upon ourselves the name of Christ. Let us do good works. Let us glorify our Father in Heaven. The Father glorified His name in Christ. We, in His place, can also glorify the Father. 

I know that my Redeemer lives. He lives, my prophet, priest, and king. 

I love you all. 

Elder Dickson

P.S. My new companion is Elder Vieira. He’s Brazilian and works very hard.

Transfer #2

Week #35

Transfers. Always an interesting time. All I know is that I'm staying and Elder Angus is leaving. I'll meet somebody new tomorrow. Such suspense. 

Also, I have very little time, so I'll just say this week was very hot and I have a picture of the zone.

I'll be staying near the beach. This branch is amazing. They are all very excited about the work and are trying very hard to have sufficient numbers for a stake. In the next couple weeks, there should be a new  branch opening up in the next city. It's awesome to see the work grow. 

Other than that, just stuff I don't know. I'll find out tomorrow.

Here's a picture. 

Back: Elder Andrade, eu mesmo, Elder Angus, Elder Lagos, Elder Torres da Silva, Elder Day, Elder Thomazinho
Front: Elder Smithson, Sister Cardoso, Sister Gamez, Elder Boehme, Elder Ryberg

Yes, lots of Americans. It's unusual. 

Tchau.