Elder Connor W Dickinson: Week 17: Charity Never Faileth "Caridad nunca falla"

I think I’ve found the theme for my mission up to this point: ‘Becoming more Christ-like.’ In preach my gospel there is a full chapter on Christ-like attributes. It talks about charity and how it is the most important step to becoming more Christ-like. Charity is the pure love of Christ and as we become more charitable, we come to love the important things in life. Whether it is people, as in family, the people in the ATM (Arizona Tucson Mission) or loving thy neighbor I think you can see what I’m getting at.

If God, our loving Heavenly Father, was willing to give his only begotten son, what should we be willing to give? Mom, Dad, family, friends, Elders and Sisters this week I want to invite each of you to become more charitable, whether it is paying it forward at the gas station, paying for someone’s meal at a restaurant, giving selfless service or serving your companions. Time or money - doesn’t matter. Strive to become more Christ-like in all of your doings. I know as you do this you will be greatly blessed and you will come to realize, "Hey, I didn’t really need that $20 or that hour that bad.” The feeling you get is well worth paying it forward.

I recall a lesson we had with Sis. B___ in Portal, AZ - it was not only was a good lesson, but she taught us a lesson too. She told us that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you serve someone is caused by a hormone released in the brain call Oxytocin. It was a great lesson! Two weeks later at a dinner with a family in Animas, this subject came up. We learned that Oxytocin is also a chemical used for inducing labor in pigs. Funny, right?

Anyways, remember the first and greatest commandment! I learned this the hard way, through serving my companion. It has helped our relationship. After exchanges with our DL, I’ve come to the conclusion that I will just do things the way my companion wants them done, even if I don’t agree, and maybe I might learn something, Quien sabe.

Monday was amazing - getting to talk to you guys, and Sis. McBride and everyone else. I also enjoyed hearing from Elder DeMille as well. On P-Day last week I read the last 75 pages of the book of Mormon while emailing with everyone. Even though we didn’t get to see the other Elders or do something fun, I think I made the best of the situation.

Huge spider in our apartment!

My first scorpion! :O :O

The bugs here are impressive (and horrifying)!!

Tuesday was a better start to the week than last week. I am now re-reading El Libro De Mormon. I am counting all the times God commands someone to do something and then the immediate blessings that follow. So far, I am in Jacob chapter 5 and have found 38 examples of this. After our studies, we ate lunch, then went finding (street contacting/tracting, but we didn’t find anyone. The only thing I got was a mouthful of dirt. Yes, we were out in middle of a huge dust storm. We had to wear glasses, because the blowing dust hurt our eyes too much. Now that I look back on it, even the Bishop said, we shouldn’t have been out during the storm, but I will never pass on an opportunity to save a soul.

Texting with the BEST Ward Mission Leader EVER!

H___ & C___ cancelled their appointment, so we visited B___ S___ and had a very spiritual meeting about why we should care about Eternal Life. Before coming on my mission, the most important thing to me was playing sports. Now, I just want to be the best I can be, and to stand blameless and spotless at the last day before God. Yes, it takes daily repentance, but it’s well worth it. We made a few more quick visits and then headed to dinner with the P___s. We had tavern pot roast. It was super good. After diner we tried to make some visits, but no one answered their doors.

Wednesday: We drove to Duncan AZ, met the Duncan Elders and they drove us to Clifton AZ for our district meeting. What follows district meeting in Clifton? You guessed it R & R pizza! A member paid for us so it was extra delicious! Then we drove to the copper mine overlook for the new elders in our district to see, and then proceeded back to Duncan. We did exchanges and I stayed in Duncan and the two new elders went to Lordsburg. Don’t worry; Elder Rodrigues knows enough to get by. So, on splits we went and saw a family then went out to eat at Wanda’s Cafe with the C___s. After diner, we went to an appointment in York, but they cancelled by calling us after we had waited there for ten minutes. So we rescheduled for Thursday at 1:00.

Rain clouds but, again....NO RAIN!
It hasnt rained since my 3rd day here!

Thursday: We went to see another family in Duncan. They were super nice. We then went to our 1:00 appointment and the person did the same thing; cancelled after we drove 20 miles to meet with them. That was actually the 3rd time in 24 hours that happened. Oh well, we then went over to K___ & P___s and played SkipBo for a little while before it was dinner time. We drove to Virden and had dinner with the W___s, a part-member family. They showed us their backyard. Man, it was amazing! He has bad knees, so he put in a walk-around garden by using old refrigerators, filling them with dirt and planting all kinds of veggies in them. The refrigerators were paneled with old wood and corrugated tin. They were awesome! Then, our splits were over and we drove home to Lordsburg.

Friday was a long day. We did weekly planning and goal setting which took us all the way until dinner time, so we then drove down to Animas NM and had dinner with the M___s = My favorite people. It turns out her cancer has returned, but she’s a fighter and she is tough. We shared some emotional moments together. Then after an exchange of hugs and a few tears, we were off to do family history.

Yet another New Mexican sunset

Saturday: Man what a day! We woke up in animas, then drove to Rodeo. For the second time in 5 weeks, we got another flat tire. After changing that, we went and did service for Bro. and Sis. P___. The have this giant pole in the ground which the HOA said was way too close to the highway. The post was about three feet in diameter and about 40 feet tall and was cemented into the ground. Well, we had to chisel it out with a 20lb sledge hammer, and take it out with a tractor. Right at the most important time the tractor broke down. If we were going to finish the job, we had to fix the tractor. Bro, P___ didn’t know what was wrong with the tractor. It wasn’t getting any juice. So I prayed, and then found the problem. I had to dissemble then reassemble the ignition to get it to work. When it started, he jumped up and down and proceeded to hug me. I don’t know how I knew what needed to be done, but man, it worked. After a long day of swinging the sledgehammer and pushing that massive post around, I was super sore and my back hurt so bad, but the smile on his face was well worth it. For lunch he made us un pajarito or a full chicken he made in the oven. It's pretty cool. It was tasty. After we had finished doing service, we ended up going to the older K___’s house for dinner. We talked about hunting and a lot of things in general. Then we drove back to Animas and talked with the R___s for a while before going to bed.

Brother "P's" parajito

Sunday: We went to Priesthood Executive Committee before Sacrament Meeting. I got to say the closing prayer. After Sunday School, we drove to Lordsburg and taught the Mata boys. Then we did our studies, visited a few people and then ate dinner at Bro. H___’s house, and then went to see S___..

Half horse, half donkey
P.S. (I dont think he knows!) Hehe

Tonight we have been having some P-day fun at a member's family in Duncan who's son is serving a mission in North Carolina. The pictures below are of a "Duncan ritual" (all the kids do it) or basically teenage fun in the sticks! :)