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 

Week 92: Service, Service and More Service

Mosiah 2:17 states:  “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

And now, a bible reference: 

Matt. 25:40  “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” That being said, this week was one of my favorite weeks...why?  Because, I was able to do a very good amount of service.   DISCLAIMER:  Pictures will be sent to Mom’s messenger. Monday night through Thursday we did exchanges in Clifton and then in Lordsburg.  During my exchanges on Wednesday I was able to travel down to Lordsburg (my first area) with Elder Thompson (one of my past companions) and visit Brother B__ H__ again.   It was a super sweet reunion and we just so happened to be in the right place at the right time.  We were able to help him patch his mother’s roof.  She has a metal roof that has a leak.  So, we used this rubberized coating to patch it up.  It rained the next day, so hopefully the patch worked! We were also able to do service at the foodbank on Wednesday.  It basically included mopping the floors - nothing special or fun - but hey, service is service, right?  After the fun on the roof top, we were able to help somebody pull weeds.  It just so happened the person was the top salesmen at the local Ford dealership, so we got sweet hats!  Friday:  My goodness.  We were able to go back up to Sis. H__’s one more time for Elder Heiner.  We hopped in the car and drove the long trip up to where she lives.  When we got there we split and stacked about a 2 month supply of firewood for her, since her husband was out of town for work.  I have a lot of pictures and fun videos of the work we did.  The fun part about chopping firewood was getting to drive a side-by-side four-wheeler to move the wood from the pile to the porch. Oh, and the fact that it was 47 degrees and raining.  That is as close to snow that I’ll see for a while - so I really, really enjoyed it!!  After doing that, a shower has never felt so good, lol. Saturday was another day full of service.  We were able to help Brother R___ at his taco shop. It is closed for 3 weeks so we can hopefully finish up everything that needs to be done in order to get his restaurant licenses.  Right now, everything is outside under an overhang.  This is what we achieved: 1.      Wired 2 lights into a breaker box 2.      Wired a junction box 3.      Stripped an entire room to the studs 4.      Drilled 150 holes for wire through studs 5.      Installed 3 bales of insulation 6.      Ate at R&R pizza Buffet 7.      Put on some metal roofing This week I gained some very valuable experience.  I learned how to run wire, make a junction box and wire switches.  It was a blessing to be able to help and to be helped while I learned this valuable info.  Don’t worry, a licensed electrician was teaching and keep an eye on me. Why is all of this knowledge valuable?  The character which is built when serving another child of God is priceless.  The smiles, hugs and thanks given after doing service for someone in need will make your life more rich then money - and in more way than one, I must say. This week I learned that missionary work can happen in more ways than just walking up and down the streets talking to people.  I have seen in this area how consistent service softens hearts.  If it was not for the service we would not have had the opportunity to teach Bro. R__s family - two of which have set baptismal dates.   You cannot put a price tag on that – it is truly priceless.  Service + love + charity = salvation for those you come to love and for yourself as well.  ;) On that point, I would like to leave you all with a challenge: This week serve someone, whether it takes 5 minutes, an hour or 10 hours - lol.   I can promise you that the feeling you get for that service will be nothing short of amazing and will have you coming back for more.  Remember, all good things come of God.  Remember that and remember Him in all you do - then, at the last day all will be well with Him, who is in Heaven. That is my humble testimony and I leave that with you in the name our Savior, Redeemer, the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, amen! I love you all and cannot wait to hear from you!! Love, C.W. Dickinson

Week 91: Service, Service and More Service

Mosiah 2:17 states:  “And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”

And now, a bible reference: 

Matt. 25:40  “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, in as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” That being said, this week was one of my favorite weeks...why?  Because, I was able to do a very good amount of service.   DISCLAIMER:  Pictures will be sent to Mom’s messenger. Monday night through Thursday we did exchanges in Clifton and then in Lordsburg.  During my exchanges on Wednesday I was able to travel down to Lordsburg (my first area) with Elder Thompson (one of my past companions) and visit Brother B__ H__ again.   It was a super sweet reunion and we just so happened to be in the right place at the right time.  We were able to help him patch his mother’s roof.  She has a metal roof that has a leak.  So, we used this rubberized coating to patch it up.  It rained the next day, so hopefully the patch worked! Patching the roof! We were also able to do service at the foodbank on Wednesday.  It basically included mopping the floors - nothing special or fun - but hey, service is service, right?  After the fun on the roof top, we were able to help somebody pull weeds.  It just so happened the person was the top salesmen at the local Ford dealership, so we got sweet hats!  Reunion with Bro. H Friday:  My goodness.  We were able to go back up to Sis. H__’s one more time for Elder Heiner.  We hopped in the car and drove the long trip up to where she lives.  When we got there we split and stacked about a 2 month supply of firewood for her, since her husband was out of town for work.  I have a lot of pictures and fun videos of the work we did.  The fun part about chopping firewood was getting to drive a side-by-side four-wheeler to move the wood from the pile to the porch. Oh, and the fact that it was 47 degrees and raining.  That is as close to snow that I’ll see for a while - so I really, really enjoyed it!!  After doing that, a shower has never felt so good, lol. Saturday was another day full of service.  We were able to help Brother R___ at his taco shop. It is closed for 3 weeks so we can hopefully finish up everything that needs to be done in order to get his restaurant licenses.  Right now, everything is outside under an overhang.  This is what we achieved: 1.      Wired 2 lights into a breaker box 2.      Wired a junction box 3.      Stripped an entire room to the studs 4.      Drilled 150 holes for wire through studs 5.      Installed 3 bales of insulation 6.      Ate at R&R pizza Buffet 7.      Put on some metal roofing Prepping for Winter This week I gained some very valuable experience.  I learned how to run wire, make a junction box and wire switches.  It was a blessing to be able to help and to be helped while I learned this valuable info.  Don’t worry, a licensed electrician was teaching and keep an eye on me. Why is all of this knowledge valuable?  The character which is built when serving another child of God is priceless.  The smiles, hugs and thanks given after doing service for someone in need will make your life more rich then money - and in more way than one, I must say. Do you think my tractors' good looking? LOL This week I learned that missionary work can happen in more ways than just walking up and down the streets talking to people.  I have seen in this area how consistent service softens hearts.  If it was not for the service we would not have had the opportunity to teach Bro. R__s family - two of which have set baptismal dates.   You cannot put a price tag on that – it is truly priceless.  Service + love + charity = salvation for those you come to love and for yourself as well.  ;) Current Home. LOVE IT! On that point, I would like to leave you all with a challenge: This week serve someone, whether it takes 5 minutes, an hour or 10 hours - lol.   I can promise you that the feeling you get for that service will be nothing short of amazing and will have you coming back for more.  Remember, all good things come of God.  Remember that and remember Him in all you do - then, at the last day all will be well with Him, who is in Heaven. That is my humble testimony and I leave that with you in the name our Savior, Redeemer, the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, amen! I love you all and cannot wait to hear from you!! Love, Elder C.W. Dickinson

Week 90: An All-Around Weird Week

This week was super busy with administrative things, regular missionary work and of course General Conference. In general, it was just all around a weird week. 

For instance, Tuesday we had to drive back to Stafford to pick up our new tires, which had to be ordered last week. So, driving there, waiting for them to be installed and driving back took up 90% of our day. We got home in time for a quick meal and a lesson with a recent convert. So, it was just a really odd day. 

Wednesday:  We had some exchanges after our District Meeting. So, once again, it was a really weird day.  Due to doing some service in the morning, we were unable to do our studies until the afternoon – so, it also was just different.  Because of splits, we have had to do double the work for our area, because there were 4 of us (two sets of Elders) the splits made it feel like there were only 2 of us.  So, what really happened is, we just ended up having double the cancelations, lol.  But, it was a good experience.  I learned some patience while I was at it.

Thursday was a pretty regular day with some family history mixed in.

They have trees here! :O

Friday:  Oh blessed planning day!  After our morning routine, we did our weekly planning.  The best part of Friday is - believe it or not – is weekly planning.  We have a family in our area that lives 50 miles north of the mine – in the mountains, here it snows and get a below zero in the winter - where there is actual trees, elk and deer.  Because it is in the mountains, it has awesome trout fishing, windy roads and it takes an hour and a half to travel 35 miles.  It was absolute heaven. I’ll have pictures so no worries.   I will be sending them in a different email.  While there, we had some awesome jambalaya, which was so good. As a whole, Friday evening was just heaven.  Heaven sent.

Saturday was an awesome day. Not only because of General Conference, but I got to develop some new construction skills.   During the breaks in Conference, we were able to help hang drywall and do some framing in some rooms that were being converted to apartments.   So, pictures of my labors will follow.  It was awesome seeing an aspect of construction from start to finish - and not only that I gained some awesome experience. 

That's not the only thing that made Saturday so awesome.  We had dinner with our Ward Mission leader and the R___ family.  We were able to set baptismal dates for 2 out of the 3 family members.  One of the family was in Tucson that day, but still wants to be baptized!  Yippy right?  It was awesome.  The date they picked is October 27^th - in 3 weeks! It will be wonderful.

Sunday was also awesome with conference.  That is also what I would like to talk about. While all the General Conference sessions were great, the one thing that really stuck out to me was… *Disclaimer  = at the moment I can remember who actually said it.*  but he said and I quote "we may be out on our own, but we are never alone." 

This really hit me hard!  Struggling to find success in inviting other to come into Christ through baptism has really been a struggle for me this last year of my mission.  Sometimes I've felt alone or on my own, but through perseverance, faith. and now this quote, I know I was never alone.   Knowing this has brought me great comfort.  God and his son Jesus the Christ will always be with us and will always have our best interests at heart. 

I would like to invite all of you to Google the poem ‘Footsteps in the sand.’  PLEASE do it.  It is beautiful and will put in to prospective the love God has for each and every one of us.

That's all for this week!  It was a weird at the start but I couldn't have asked for a better finish! I love y'all and can't wait to hear from you!

Love you.

C.W. Dickinson

Week 89: Timing is Everything

This week, being on the Lord’s errand has defiantly opened my eyes to the difference of what I want versus what ended up being the best for me or for those we work with. The highlight of my week proved that.  It may not seem like a big deal, but in the moment timing meant everything.

We were planning a lesson with the R___ family, which ended up being cancelled because they had to work the company picnic and put in an 18 hour day before. There are no worries there, because we will just meet with them next week.  However, what had replaced their lesson was something special.

We were asked to attend a Self Reliance class with a ward member who is nervous about serving a mission because he doesn't feel ready.  After a very inspiring class on getting a better education to improve employment opportunities, our Ward Mission Leader and I were able to share stories about preparing for our missions.  It was just what he needed to hear. With what was said during the class, it was the also the right time and the Lord wanted him to about hear this from someone.  The Spirit was very present and delivered our message.  Hopefully, within a couple months he will be submitting his mission papers. 

Teaching wise, this week was a little dull.  We did not have very many lessons due to our meetings on Monday and Tuesday with a visiting General Authority.  So, we only really had two days to proselyte this week.   Why only day days?  Well, we had a flat tire and the closest repair shop is in Safford.  So, it took a long time to drive there and back to get it fixed.  Also, we did our shopping while we were there because we were already used those miles (we can only drive so many miles a week).  So, driving, tire repair and shopping took up most of the day.  We were able to talk to a few people while doing so, so it was worth it.

Saturday, at the company picnic, we were able to talk to over 150 people.  We didn’t find any new investigators, but we made our presence known in that small town and while we were at it, we had the tender mercy of country music and good free food all day long.  However, a lot of free food also makes for a rough night of no sleep, lol.

This week I learned a lot about being on the Lord’s errand.  It is just like the song says “Timing is everything.”   That being said, we might not know why, who or how, but the Lord will provide a way.  He has made that really clear to me this week.  My experiences this week have really helped to grow my testimony of this.

I love you guys and cannot wait to hear from you.

Love,

C.W. Dickinson

Week 88: Half Full – or Half Empty?

This last week was beyond wonderful. Even with a few of our lesson canceling we were able to do a bunch of fun/cool things.

This email I’m going to share four highlights from this week.

First, I would like to start off with the R___ family.  The Dad has been a member for a couple years now.  He owns a taco stand here in Clifton.  He lived in Mexico for 12 years where he learned how to makes killer tacos.  His business is doing so well that he can only work Thursdays and Fridays because he sells out of them.  Two weeks ago, we helped him with some service and found out that his family are not members.  We gained his trust and we started teaching his family.  Sunday, they said they are ready to be baptized. They really want an eternal family and are excited to come closer to Christ.  So, that is super exciting right?

Next, after the book of Mormon class we teach, we got word that there was a lady in the ward who's yard needed weeding and we were asked if we could do so. So, Friday morning we went over unannounced and weeded this lady's entire yard and the best part is, we did it anonymously – because nobody was home. So, she still has no idea who did it.  Well, little did we know, she is from Stafford and is a recent convert and is struggling with the move to the small town of Morenci.  She doesn't know many people in the ward. So, we took the opportunity to make her day.  She sent a nice message to the ward group chat that was really sweet.  No one knows it was us. lol.  So, I am inviting everyone to do a simple act of service for someone before the month's end.  #ServiceSeptemeber.

The third highlight I would like to share happened on Saturday.  Our ward had an 11-year-old scout day camp up in the mountains and they needed us to help teach tying knots and just being good examples for the boys.  So, we got to spend all day Saturday up at Black Jack Campground near the New Mexico, Arizona border, up in the mountains.  It was so nice - it was 71 degrees all day long.  Man, let me tell you it was a nice change of pace.

The final highlight of this week happened on Tuesday.  We had mission conference (with half of the mission) with a member of the Quorum of the Seventy.  I cannot put in to words of how enjoyable, wisdom filled and enlightening it was to have a Member of the Quorum of the Seventy to come visit our mission. Lynn G. Robbins is ‘The Man.’  He was awesome. He is such a captivating and eloquent teacher - not to mention the amount of intellect and wisdom he shared with us. 

We talked a lot about developing our Christlike attributes.  How missions are the equivalent of 500 level college courses on marriage, patience and diligence.  It was just all so wonderful, but one of the main takeaways I learned wasn't exactly something he taught, but I took what he taught and expounded on it and I will share it with everyone now:

We were talking about how the glass is half full or half empty = Optimism vs pessimism.  I have now adopted this mentality and this just came to me while he was talking:  No matter which option we choose (half full/half empty) we STILL have water in our glass.

Let that sink in for a moment. You can relate this to everything in life.  No matter if it is applied to the gospel of Jesus Christ or something in your everyday life.  Elder Robbins also talked being happy and enjoying everyday life during the last General Conference – look it up.  It really supported and encouraged what I have already been working on.

There's a story that goes as follows:

It was a rainy day in England and two missionaries were going door-to-door with no success.  Day in and day out it had been raining and nobody showed remotely any interest.  Being tired, cold and hungry one companion begins to murmur and complain (who wouldn't, right?  lol). That being said, his companion turned to him and said a couple simple words that changed MY life forever... He said, “Elder it could be one degree colder.” 

Because this message is so pure and simple I won't expound on it much more because I'm sure you get the point, but I have been learning a lot out here, in the mission field.  I’m learning to be happy and enjoy every little thing.  It has helped so much and I am always in a much better mood! Give it a try, what have you got to lose.

I had such a wonderful week and can't wait to hear from everyone.  I love you all.

Love,

Elder C.W. Dickinson

Week 87: Breaking News: 94 Flies Killed at a Single Location. Culprits Were Wearing White Shirts and Ties

I know the subject line for this week’s email was a little long, but we worked our fair booth this week and the flies were terrible!  Earlier, we won a little red plastic fly swatter from the Valley Tellicom communication booth and we put it to good use.  We killed 94 flies.  The flies were bad and it was at least a million and one degrees in that building!   During our time at the fair, we talked to a lot of church members and maybe five or our investigators.   So, it could have been worse, right?  After all was said and done, we were only able to teach one person about family history. 

Family History is awesome people! (Just not the flies) UGH

On Friday, we worked the booth for 8 hours and on Saturday we worked it for 15 hours, including take down.  Because of that, we actually didn't get home before 11:00 pm, which made for a long, hot, sweaty day – and oh yeah, flies, lol. 

A long with serving in the booth, we served along-side a church member that owns a fudge shop.  The only thing I'll say about that is - they had like 21 different flavors and they took really good care of us, lol.  Other than working the booth, this week was relatively slow. We ended up having a couple of lessons cancel, so we just walked around and talked to people on the street.

Pictures from our 9-11 Hike to support our local responders.

This week I would like to share a little about the atonement of Jesus Christ and the final judgment, which was the topic of our Sacrament Meeting this week, which brought me great comfort.

While judgment day may seem like a scary thing, the outcome is something so beautiful we can't even comprehend it here in our mortal state.  Jesus Christ’s Atoning sacrifice (his suffering for our sins, pains and afflictions) is what makes it possible for us to return to our Loving Father in Heaven.  Each of us can have our own personal relationship with Him.  There is no sin or transgression that is outside the healing power of the atonement of Jesus Christ.  It is actually selfish for us to think that the Son of God suffering and dying for us is not sufficient enough for our shortcomings. 

When the day comes when we are judged, it will be the most just judgment that we will ever endure. As a little word of caution:  As long as we are doing what we are supposed to do (i.e. read the scriptures, pray and repent) there is nothing to fear. 

Something else I learned our wonderful Sacrament Meeting this week is that no matter how many times we slip up, we can repent and hit the repeat button.  David A. Bednar stated "If we are just a little better today than we were yesterday - we have nothing to worry about."

I know that this is true doctrine and if we abide by its precepts we WILL be able to return to our maker.  Just remember that God loves you. 

And I love you guys and am really enjoying the last 12 weeks of my mission. While time may be short, it is of the utmost importance to me. I'm having fun! How about you ;)

Love you,

Elder C.W. Dickinson