Joseph was Baptized Saturday

Hello everybody!

Joseph was baptized Saturday at 3:30! It was great! He was so excited to be baptized!! He even took us all out to Red Lobster for dinner! He told us 3 missionaries (the ones who worked with him) the places he would take us and all 3 said different places. So Elder Hamelwright said well I guess you get to choose which place we are going to go because we all 3 said something different. So Elder Hamelwright said, “Who is your favorite missionary”. Joseph said well then, I will have to go with Elder Dickson since he has been with me the whole time! Wahoo!!! Endless shrimp!! Joseph ate probably 50+ shrimp!! Joseph was baptized by a member of the ward by Josephs request and he requested me to do the confirmation the following Sunday. When I did the confirmation it was incredible to pass on the gift of the Holy Ghost and confirm him a member. The efforts have paid off for him, of finding and teaching him for such a long time.

Before he was going to get baptized the Bishop of the ward said no that he can’t be baptized because of some requests that he had. I was so upset. There were some things that needed to be worked out. So the baptism was off for last Saturday. I was NOT going to let this happen! He was going to get baptized!! So we had a conference call with the Zone Leaders, us and Joseph about the requests. Later we met in person and the spirit opened up to us and Joseph. Between the one Zone Leader my companion and I the spirit told us what to say. The spirit was literally speaking to each missionary telling one at a time what to say. Joseph noticed we were in sync with each other. I told Joseph, “And I think you know why we are in sync with each other”. He got a smile on his face. I said, “That was the spirit!!” We said to him,” How do you feel now?” He said, “I feel calm”. Then I said, “Are you ready to be baptized tomorrow without the stipulations?” He replied, “YES!!!” So we left the room and Joseph was interviewed for the Baptism!!! 

 Love you all!!!

I Am So Sick

Well, this week was crazy! We went tracting and came across a man and he did not want to hear about the message we had but was interested in our free services. So we came back a few days later and replaced his siding on his house (trailer). Then Saturday night we were out on team-ups and I started to get sick! My nose was running like crazy. So after team-ups we were dropped off at the apartment and I told my companion that we needed to go to the store to get meds. So on Sunday I was still so sick! We had to miss the Sunday portion of Stake Conference! Ugh no fun! I forced myself to get out today so I could come email. It is great being out on a mission, there are so many people that look after you when your sick. The Coopers came over and gave me some Chicken Noodle Soup, a get well card, and some Halloween candy. It was great!!

But this week is Joseph’s baptism! He is so excited to get baptized! We were supposed to go out shopping today to get him some church clothes, but I have been sick so I cancelled it so I could rest. But hopefully satan won't work his hardest this week to break him down! Pray for him please!!

Love you all!!

Ward Member MTC Activity and more

Good morning! This week has been so incredible! First off, Joseph is prepared to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! He is so beyond prepared to be a member! He is being baptized the 27th of this month. We have been going over the final lesson with him in greater depth as prompted to do so. We went over 3 points with him: 1. Priesthood and Auxiliaries 2. Missionary work 3. Eternal Marriage. He is so eager to share the gospel with others already. He is not a member and he has said that this gospel has changed my life already!! He is not even a member!!! He said yesterday after services that he has already been thinking of some people that he wants to share with. Something I would like to share with all the younger kids. Go on a mission when you are suppose to! As we were teaching it hit me so hard that I could not teach effectively at that time. That was, If I would have gone on a mission when I was told do do so Joseph would have been able to serve a mission. But I waited to long to come out which made him too old to serve the Lord. So I have delayed the Lords work by doing my own will! Do not be one of these people! So the other night I was texting him and I was prompted to tell him to pray about going to the temple. It came up yesterday that he did pray about it and the Lord told him to enter the temple as soon as possible!! How great is this!!

The Lord will provide. Saturday we did a ward missionary activity called MMTC which stands for Member Missionary Training Center. We had 4 different classes being taught by missionaries. The classes are: Team-ups, Conversation starters, friendshipping, and social media. We had the topic Team-ups. It was awesome! We had so many people attend from the 2 different wards. But the Sisters from the other ward said that they had so many comments with our class that we taught. So hopefully we will be seeing a growth with team-ups in each ward. But the class' were put in place to help the members become better missionaries in their own time. It went great!

So just to share an experience I had. When I came out on the mission I was so scared to teach!! I could not even teach with my trainer. He did a lot of teaching I could not get out of myself to do such. But yesterday we were told to teach the Lesson in Gospel Principles 1 hour in advance!!! (The teacher went home sick) So I went and got a book and skimmed over the context. I got up there and taught like I had the thing memorized! It was so easy because I put my faith in the Lord. If we have the desire to do something he will help us. So for you pre-missionaries, don't be afraid to serve the Lord. He will mold you into what he needs you to be! Not what you think you need to be. We are just a slab of steel. As we go through trials he is molding us into a sword that He can grasp to use for His work.

Love you all!!
Prayers!!

This week has been crazy good!

Well hello there! This week has been crazy good! Joseph our investigator is going to be baptized on September 27th at 3:00. A member in the ward was chosen by Joseph to baptize him. I am so excited to hear that he is starting to get integrated with the ward members! He even spoke up in Elders quorum and shared a really sacred moment he had in his childhood! He is so ready to be baptized a member!

This Saturday we are having a mini MTC at our church. The missionaries will be teaching 4 different classes that will talk about: Conversation starting, team-ups, social media, and fellow shipping. It will be a great time for those who come! I can't wait to teach the members how to become better missionaries!

I have been going good! The weather is finally cooling down. The water here in Kansas is so nasty!! I have been buying a case of water each week and drinking it all in one week! So that is 36 bottles a week! Crazy! Nothing much to report on this week besides it was transferrs and got a new companion. That is going great! He actually helps keep the apartment clean!! Shocker!!

Love you all.
Email me if you have questions!
Elder Dickson

Transfers & Teaching the Gospel

Hello everybody! It is transfer time again! I love a new beginning! My new companion is Elder Cook. I have no idea who he is. But it will be a good time. We are going to be baptizing our investigator this September! He is so golden! He has attended 2 different baptisms attended church 2 times already. And we have only been teaching him for 2 weeks now! Crazy! But the weather has finally been cooling off! I am so excited about that. All last night there was lightning lighting up the sky! It was so awesome! I am so excited to bring another sheep into the Lords fold! His name is Joseph and is in his 30's. Love you all!!

Richard Was Baptized

This letter from Elder Dickson was from the 18th of August. I haven't been able to get on the blog as a Admin. So I have it figured out now. Judy

Hey everybody! I just received news that this man was baptized! I helped teach him and helped get the ball rolling with his progression in the Gospel!! I am so stoked right now!! His name is Richard!! I am so glad that he made the choice to be baptized!! Oh man!! Boo yeah!!! Love it!!!