Week 99: Mission Accomplished!

First and foremost, I just want to let y'all know my flight into Central Wisconsin airport (CWA), is scheduled to land at about 3:50 on Wednesday afternoon. My Mom actually took this same flight into CWA last month when returning from some business travel. She found out that this flight almost always arrives about a half hour early. So, if you were to get to the airport around 3:15 you will have a little time to spare, if not then sorry for the wait, lol.  I invite everyone to come, it should be a fun time and I look forward to seeing you there!

Now that that is out of the way I would like to talk about my final week as a missionary!

As glorious as one would hope it was, it was filled with just walking around, packing and deep cleaning the apartment. After careful consideration and some math, I was able to squeeze 2 years of memories into my suit cases and carry-on bag.  The hardest part of this week was trying to clean, and pack everything simultaneously. 

There was a night this week when we were out pounding the streets, then all of the sudden with no warning it started pouring.  In the space of 30 minutes the streets were flooded with 2 inches of rain. It was pretty intense.  Needless to say, I was completely soaked - through and through. 

Throughout this past week we also set a mission record for moves.  We had 8 this week, so most of the time we weren't walking and talking, we were helping people move.  That took up a ton of time, not to mention it made the time fly by.

The highlight of this week happened on Sunday, right before my exit interview with the Mission President.  I got to see Ken S again. He was the fellow that I baptized. The second he laid eyes on me he burst out crying, I can't lie I could hardly hold the tears back either. We only got to talk for about 20 minutes. He is getting ready to receive his endowment.  He has progressed so much. We shared stories, and exchanged addresses.  He shared one story that really struck me.  The picture we took of he and I in our baptismal whites right before I baptized him (I had my Mom & Dad send him a framed pictures). He says he looks at it every day.  It sits on top of his tv, he said other than his dog, that the picture is his most prized possession.  Words cannot describe how I felt. My heart is full. After a long hug, and words of encouragement from both sides, we went our separate ways.  I also got to see Ashli, the woman I taught who was baptized during the same baptismal service. The whole day was just awesome!

After all that fun, I had my exit interview with President Browning, we talked about my plan, and some council for the future. He closed by giving me a blessing. It was a beautiful experience I will never forget.

I would like to finish my very last weekly email with my testimony.

When I left for the mission field, on January 4, 2017 I was really kicking myself for not paying more attention in my Dad's Sunday school class. Why? Well I basically got to the MTC and didn’t know anything - let alone how to teach the lessons.  However, through exercising my faith, and continual prayer not only was I able to learn the gospel of Jesus Christ, but I was able to developed a testimony of every aspect of it. 

Through the course of my mission I endured some losses. The loss of loved ones, friends and even my wingman dog. While these losses all hurt, it made manifest to me of the truthfulness of the Plan of Salvation. Tue plan that our father has designed for us so we can return back to Him. I have had the privilege during my hard times to reach out and help others with the same problems. While death is still hard to deal with, knowing where our deceased loved one are takes away the sting. It may not fill that empty gap, but it sure is comforting. 

That brings me to my next point and that is the blessings of a Forever Family.  I cannot wait to live with my family forever. Through the Plan of Salvation and following the Gospel of Jesus Christ (faith, repentance, baptism, the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring until the end) that we will be able to live with our families forever. 

Brother and Sisters, I want you to know that I, Elder Connor William Dickinson, I KNOW, without a shadow of doubt that every aspect of the gospel is indeed true, I know that Christ lives, and is our perfect judge. I know that Russel M. Nelson is a prophet of God.

These last two years that I have devoted my life to serving a 2-year mission and they been the best 2 years of my life.  They were definitely not the easiest, but they were definitely the best. I cannot replace the things I have learned. I will never forget those I met during this great adventure. 

I am happy to report that I may have changed the lives of others, but most importantly the change that I have endured, the lessons I have learned have been a key factor in me saying that... I am eternally converted to the Gospel. 

I would like to close by telling you I know that anybody who abides by the teachings of Christ, coupled with the Book of Mormon and Bible will also developed their faith and will be entitled to all the blessings stated above. 

Granted this passage of scripture from the New Testament - when Paul was beheaded (granted, not the best intro, but stay with me), is perfect for the context of my mission....

6:  For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

7:  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

This sums up my mission perfectly.

Until we meet again. I love you 

Elder Connor William Dickinson signing off.

Week 98: Two years? Where did it go?

Well people, its offical. This week marks the first of many lasts on the mission. 

Wednesdays,

Thursday,

Fridays

Saturdays,

Sunday's,

Real Prays,

Fast and testimony meetings,

District meetings,

     It didnt seem like much until I put it into typing. This week has been a pretty good week. Finding(tracking, and street contacting), are defiantly not my favorite forms of missionary work, but aside from cleaning the apartment, it is really the only responsibility  that I have, Oh other than member dinners! The high lights of my days lol

     I'm pretty excited for a Prays back in Tucson for once. I will be able to play ball! If I'm being honest that may be the only reason I am evenly remotely excited for that haha. But oh well, next play will be spent emailing and final trip preparations. So this is my last real pday! Ill try to live it the best i can.

The thing I'm looking forward to least is prolly coming home and now having normal Mondays... oh well welcome to the adult life right?!?

There was only really one highlight this week. Being that I had already finished my my plan a week early, my companion Elder Innskeep  still has to finish! No , that's not the highlight. Well, while walking to the library, we found Douglas! He wants to be baptized! Sadly since we are unable to teach, we had to pass him off. But we not only did our jobs, but we exceeded all expectations!

Other than that exchange, we didnt have much happen this week. When it comes to finding, there is not much more to say other than the fact that we walked... miles, and miles. On the bright side of that we prolly talked to well over 400 people! 

Unfortunately we were in able to watch the Christmas devo. We ended up having dinner during it.

My home coming talk is coming along about as fast as a snail on a glue trap. (Just made that up lol). But that pretty much explains that haha

I am so sorry I don't have much other to talk about.. 

This weeks message that I would like to share is found on lighttheworld.org 

I won't have it here, but you can copy and paste the link above.

The lighttheworld initiative, is something that all are welcome to participate in, this year, instead of an act of service they have a set of 4 videos.

Week one is light the world

Week two is light your community

Week three is light your family

And week for is light your faith

Each week it has something for us to do for each of the respective weeks. 

I just ask that as we enter this holiday stretch of the year that we remember the reason for the season, the very reason I decided to serve a mission. Jesus the very Christ. He gave all, so that we may be able to live with him and our Heavenly Father again. He is the Prince of Peace, our savior.  This Christmas is  also about spending the so very precious little time that we have, with our families. No matter how big our families are or how little. Make room for one more! Jesus Christ.   He should be a part of our everyday ordeals. So,

Will you strive to make our Savior and redeemer a part of your family,? Will you make  your relationship with him more personal? I will.  And I know you can to!

I love y'all, and can't wait to hear from you!

Love,  

   C.W. Dickinson

Week 97: T-Minus Two Weeks...but Who’s Counting, Right?

Well well, well, it’s that time of the week, I guess. It’s that time of the week that will only come around two more times!

If you haven’t heard yet, I will be getting transferred to an area in the Binghampton Ward, in central Tucson.  You may have heard of it before, because it borders Campbell Ward (one of my old areas).  Also, you might remember it, because that is where Elder Hiener got transferred to.  So, the ward currently has two areas.  So, me and another Elder who entered the mission the same time I did, Elder Inskeep, will be White Washing the area (two new Elders transfer into an area at the same time).  We will be finishing our missions there and will be closing the area and shuttering the apartment. Super weird, right?   Well, we are both really looking forward to it!  It should be a good end to a successful mission!

So that is the big news of the Week.

This week was lackluster, compared to other weeks of my mission, with the exception of Thanksgiving.  Thursday we were able to attend two dinners with two families from the Clifton Ward. Only one problem, they both made some killer food.  At the first dinner with the B___ family, everything was just spot on!  I, as you can imagine, ate waaayyy too much, lol.  After that, we visited some families until our next dinner appointment at 5:00.  My goodness, this time we had dinner with the B___ family (different family – both start with B). Let me tell you, this Thanksgiving dinner had had all the essentials, plus Smoked New York brisket... oh my goodness.  I could hardly move by the end of the night.

We had a lesson with M___, during which, we committed her to living the Word of Wisdom - again.  We emphasized the importance of following Christ by quitting smoking.  It went very well, but sadly, she asked me to baptize her on December 8^th - but I’ll be in Tucson.  But hey, at least she will still be getting baptized! 

Other than this, the only thing that really happened this week was some service at the Taco Shop.  We poured epoxy on out on the top of the service counter, which made it look killer!  We also put up some more FRP panels.  I was also able to do some painting some on the outside of the building.

Like said before, this week was pretty lackluster.  I am sorry this is such a short email, but I do have a quick story I heard this week.

Sunday during Elders’ Quorum, we discussed a member’s story that goes as follows:

A Dad was speaking in Sacrament Meeting.  When the meeting was over, the father walked down to where his family was sitting. His daughter ran up to him giving him a hug and said "Daddy, I love you and I like you."  Wondering about her profound statement, he asked what she meant. 

She said "Well Dad, we have to love every one. but we don’t have to like them or the things they do."

This story hit me pretty hard.  I think this 5-year-old has it more figured out than most of us, lol.  That was just a cute story that has really stuck with me this week. 

No matter how someone may have wronged us, they are still one of Heavenly Father’s children.  We don’t have to agree with what they do, but no matter what we should still love them.  After all, the greatest commandment is to love his children, even as we love Him.

I am sure the next two weeks will fly by.  That being said, this is all I have for this email.  I sure do love you guys and can’t wait to hear from you!

I hope you have a wonderful week!

love,

Elder C.W. Dickinson

Week 96: Service!

This week ended up being a pretty good week.  We ended up doing a lot more service than we had planned. 

On Tuesday, we had a good mixed-bag kind of day, which included some finding. While we did put in the effort, we didn't find anybody new to teach.  We did have a lesson with M___, basically the only person we are currently teaching.  She has a baptismal date scheduled for December 8^th.  We committed her to live the Word of Wisdom.  Currently, it seems like our efforts may have gone in one ear out the other.  However, we are hoping and praying she will heed our council, but it is looking bleak.  Oh well, we are trying our best to get her to commit.   We also had some service at Bro S___’s house and at the Taco Shop.  Our Ward Mission Leader needed to work on his heater (it’s been below freezing at night lately) so we helped him with some pipe fitting and then ran to the Taco Shop and worked on wiring junction boxes.  It was a nice ending to our day.

Wednesday and Saturday's are our usual service days. Wednesday we were able to do a little service at the Taco Shop. We helped hang FRP paneling on the ceiling (see pictures). Ugh, was that a task or what?!  Wednesday evening we had Stake Correlation and District Meetings. Both of which went well.

Thursday we had exchanges.  Elder Lamb came up to Clifton and instead of spending the day finding we did more service at the Taco Shop.  We completed installing the FRP paneling on 75% of the kitchen, which is HUGE. It was a big deal.  We need to finish it up this week so he can pass health code inspections! So that is on-going.

Friday we had a laid back day of weekly planning and My Plan.  Let me tell yah, this week’s My Plan topic was on dating and marriage., which was …daunting. I tell yah, it’s just weird to think that in 3 weeks I'll be back on the market, lol.

Saturday we did more service. Why? Because, I love service.  I promise, I'll have more to talk about next week, but Saturday I spent the entire day siliconing around FRP seams, various outlets and even a hot water heater.

I've adopted a funny saying until I complete my education.  Goes like this, "I'm a Jack of all trades but a master of none."  Well that's only for a while longer right? ;)

Sunday was a banner day, a.k.a. busy as heck. We gave Sacrament Meeting talks on temples.  My talk went very well and man, it is hard to write a 5 minute talk, because there is so much to talk about in such little time.  After that, my home coming talk will be a piece of cake. I should probably get started on it, right? Lol.  After giving talks we had to teach Gospel Principles class and after that we ran home and ate lunch, did personal and companionship study and then headed to Safford for interviews with president!  All of which went well except they started an hour late, oh well.  After that we had to haul home quick for a short dinner appointment with the B___ family.  Then we ran to the night Sacrament Meeting.  (Every week we have a 35 minute Sacrament Meeting for shift workers at the mine.

What a week!

Just remember throughout this coming week:  If you have any struggles or afflictions of any kind always, always remember that God is there for you.  He is our literal Father in Heaven. He is there for you, to strengthen you in time of need. Oh and I'm sure he would love to hear from you. So, send one up.  ;)

I love you guys and can't wait to hear from you tomorrow.

Love,

C.W. Dickinson 

Week 95: Runnin’ and Gunnin’ (mainly running)

This week was an interesting week, but it started off pretty rough.  From Monday night, after we said goodbye, I was pretty sick. This sickness lasted until Friday afternoon. Thursday night, a bunch of ladies at our Book of Mormon class forced me to go go the clinic.  Turns out I had an uber high blood pressure (166/92).   After some blood work and other tests – it turns out I was super dehydrated.  That didn't really explain the pain in my stomach, but oh well.  We got things figured out and I am feeling much better!

On Wednesday, I tried to work through my health issues, which ended up being a bad idea because it only made it worse.  We went and worked at the taco shop for quite a while. I wired up a couple receptacles and junction boxes - all on my own.  It was cool to test my knowledge and the taco shop is nearing completion.

Friday:  We did our weekly planning, My plan and I-Plan, which is always fun. This next week I’ll be working on the section dealing with dating and temple marriage. That's should be exciting, right?

Saturday we had the Ward Fall Festival and we had quite a lot of people show up. It was fun to laugh, tell stories and share some good fall food!

I am so sorry I don't have much to report on, but that's what happens when your boy spends most of the week sick and almost dies of water loss, lol

That being said, we are cruising right along with one of our baptismal dates while the other went haywire, packed up and left.  Oh well, everything happens for a reason. We still love her and wish what is best for her.

Even with all the time being sick, we went through our Area Book and selected a few former investigators and stopped by to check up on them.  We ended up finding 3 new investigators this week!  I'm not sure how far any of them will progress, but this is a good time to exercise some faith, right?

Since I don't have much to report, I guess I'll close with a short thought.  There is a quote I ran across this week in one of my readings by Bruce R. McConkie. (He is my favorite by the way)

Anyways, he said something along the lines of:  "Everyone who is in the church, on the straight and narrow path, who is striving and struggling but has a desire to do what is right, though he is far from perfect in this life.  If he passes out of this life on the straight and narrow path, he is going to go to an eternal reward in his father's kingdom"

This quote gives me great comfort knowing that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that he wants what is best for us. So much so, that in order to live with him we don't need to be perfect. We just need to be worthy.  That's all. So, no matter how irrelevant you may feel, keep up the good work, keep up the good fight and in all things make your Heavenly Father proud.  If you do this, you need not worry. God loves you and He is waiting to bless you. Each a and every day He and His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, wait with their hands extended just waiting for us to grab hold, to bear our burdens and to love us into the eternities. 

I love you guys so much and cannot wait to hear from you!

Love, 

C.W. Dickinson 

Week 94: A Full Week = A Full Heart

This week, like my subject line says, was a full one.  It was a week full of the Spirit, good times, lots of driving and much more.  Some things didn’t go as planned, but that is just how missionary work goes.  That being said, this week ended up being very productive.  I know this because the time flew by.

So, I guess I will just hit the highlights of the week, but there are a decent amount of them so stay tuned!

The most exciting part of this week was the baptisms of D__, C__ and I__ R__ on Saturday.  I cannot even begin to explain how strong the Spirit that was.  To witness this recently reactivated father use his priesthood to baptize the rest of his family was something very special.  When they entered the water, all of the 30+ people in attendance started to tear up and cry.   The cherry on top of the whole thing was R__ (the dad) is a big, tender hearted guy and the way that he laid each one of his family members into the water was so tender and love filled.  Ugh, I cannot even try explain it without tearing up.  It was such a beautiful thing.  The next day (Sunday) they were confirmed members and that was another beautiful and tender moment!

The second best part of the week would have to be the special trip to the Temple on Wednesday. The spirit was also very present there and the whole time I defiantly felt God’s love for all of us. 

The following day we were able to attend a Zone Conference, maybe my last one.   We learned about the importance of teaching and serving others.  However, at this point in my mission, attending zone conference is kind of like beating a dead horse, because there is only so much you can learn after being taught the same lessons over and over again.  That being said, I still managed to pull some things out for my benefit.  Also being that it was potentially my last conference, I was looking for how I could use what I was being taught in my post-mission life, since there is no more hiding the fact that that will be happening in the near future.

So, Saturday ended up being the R___ family’s very big day.  Why?  Well, not only was it the day of their baptisms, but it was D__ (the mom) and R___’s (the dad) anniversary.  Also, it was D__’s (the mom) birthday.  A little overwhelming, right?  After the baptism, the party really got started.  We spent the afternoon preparing and spit roasting a pig.  It was a little harder than when we did it with the O___ family in Midvale, but it ended up working out.  I was able to use some of my knowledge gained in Midvale Ward.  However, this time everything was done by hand – the old fashioned way.   Plus, there were so many Filipinos there and they are worse than the people in south Tucson when it comes to feeding us too much.   I ended up eating like 13 egg rolls.  I think they just thought it was funny making me eat so much, lol.  Saturday was a really good day and there were plenty of laughs to go around for all of us!  As for D___, all the hard work was worth it, because she said it was the best birthday ever.  That really made me smile!

For this week’s spiritual thought, I would like to leave you with a simple thought that God truly does love us.  This Sunday we were able to teach the lesson in Gospel Principles Class.  It was about the Creation.   The lesson’s subject matter coupled with some of the answers some class members gave really made me take a step back and think of all the blessings we see every day - but take for granted.  Blessings like clean drinking water, the scenery we see every day, the precious AZ sunsets and air to breathe.  His creation, the Earth, is His canvass and each and every day He manifests his love for us.

I would like to leave a challenge with y’all, that even on the worsts of days, look for the beauty, the hidden blessings and the manifestations of God’s love.  I promise that as you do this you will feel of His abundance and never ceasing love.

I can’t wait to hear from y'all.  I love you, Keep the faith.

Love,

      Elder C.W. Dickinson

Week 93: T minus 5 days until the baptisms!!!

I don’t know about you, but this week flew by and that is okay, because it means I was busy and I’m one week closer to being home!

This week had some good things and there was also quite a bit of down time, which we spent walking around talking to random people.  In fact, we walked almost 9 miles on Tuesday! However fulfilling that was, the back and foot pain the next morning were a bear.

So, I guess I will start off with Tuesday.  Tuesday was a good day.  We spent most of our day walking around and talking to people.  We also had a lesson with M__ and B___.   We have been meeting with them since I transferred to the Clifton area.  They both have had rough pasts and have struggled with some things, but I can see how learning the gospel is really making them happy. At the end of the lesson, we felt prompted to extend a baptismal commitment – a goal to work towards.  Together, the four of us determined their tentative date would be the 8th of December. So, that brings us to a total of 5 baptismal dates!  Wahoo!

Another Highlight from the week:  We found out, due to some circumstances, instead of just two of the R___ family being baptized, all three will count as convert baptisms. So, next Saturday is going to be a big day for their family!!!!!

On Wednesday, after our District Meeting and the drive back to Clifton, we ate some chow and headed out to do some service at the Taco Shop!  While there, I learned/ remembered how to frame in a window.  It was a fun time and it looks surprisingly good!  After that, I put in/wired up some more outlets for the exterior of the shop.

I love, love, love this service work and on Saturday we had such a fun day!

Thursday:  We got ourselves into a load of POOP…literally.  We helped a member clean out her horse pens.  What we didn't realize – because it had been over 2 weeks since they were cleaned and last week it had rained for 4 straight days.  So basically we moved three 40x20 pens worth of poop.  I always thought about having horses would be cool, but Thursday sealed the deal.  I no longer want anything to do with horses, lol.  What would have usually took us 45 minutes ended up taking 4 hours - all by shovel.  Ugh, talk about a wrecked back!

Friday was mainly used up with our weekly planning and by working on my My Plan and I-plan programs.  It all went well. After that, we stopped by a few people of interest with no luck, but sometimes that is just how the cookie crumbles.   That being, said My Plan is coming along, but it is so weird to think that I have already completed 1/3rd of it!  This week’s My Plan was just about setting goals for the future.

Saturday was so awesome!  In the morning, we were able to help Bro. S__ (our awesome ward mission leader) set up the sound and audio for the Ward Primary Program we just had on Sunday.  He is the one teaching me all the electrical stuff.   That being said, after that we went to the Taco Shop and built a counter that separates the ‘Order here’ area room from the kitchen.  So, Bro. S___ did all of the measuring and cutting and I assembled all of it (check out the photos). We were a pretty efficient team, I must say.  After the counter was built, we put some thin veneered OSB (oriented strand board) on the outside of it and then we build a counter top for it. Bro. S___ happened to have a bunch of old reclaimed barn wood. So, we made a counter top out of that and sanded it smooth.  We wanted to make something that had lots of‘Wow’ factor that his customers would remember and talk about. We will seal it in a thick, clear epoxy later this week.  I must say I thoroughly enjoyed myself and gained some valuable experience.  Needless to say, I found my niche in the reclaimed /restored furniture business! 

Other than that and finishing the lessons with the R___ family, those were the highlights of my week.

"Just do the very best you can each day. Do the basic things and, before you realize it, your life will be full of spiritual understanding that will confirm to you that your Heavenly Father loves you. When a person knows this, then life will be full of purpose and meaning, making balance easier to maintain. 

This ‘cut and paste’ quote will have to be my spiritual thought for the week.  It says what I want to say, but much better than I could phrase it.  Just remember, that you have a loving Heavenly Father who wants what is best for you.  Take life day-by-day and live in the moment.  Do the best you can do and when the time comes to be judged, Jesus Christ will make up for the rest!

God loves you and so do I.

I cannot wait to hear from you all!

Love, Elder C.W. Dickinson