Week 66: A Sonoran Coachwhip

Well, I hope you all had as wonderful of a week as I did.  This week really flew by and today we will be going Tombstone!!!!!!

We are starting a heath challenge Monday, which involves a whole list of things.  Wish me luck, because I need it, lol.

We were involved in a lot of service again this week... everything from working at the foodbank to fixing a barbed wire fence and laying pipe. It has been a wonderful week full of service

The weather here is been really nice.  I noticed that you guys are getting a lot of snow while we are in the eighties.  I'm getting more tan everyday so that's pretty nice. I’m starting to turn super dark, lol.

Monday:  It was wonderful getting to talk to y'all.  We finished PDay by playing horseshoes and corn hole.  We had a dinner appointment and then we went to the S__'s to play pool with them.  We lost the best out of 3 for the second straight week, but we will get revenge tonight. J

Tuesday:  We had zone conference and interviews on Tuesday but were not informed of it until Tuesday morning   It was super annoying that we were not informed and I got pretty upset about it because we had plans that we had to cancel.  Luckily, our interviews went well so there's nothing to complain about now.   Afterwards we got to do some service - nothing special and then the people we live with bought some baby chicks.  You can say Tuesday was the day that Elder Ramsden and I became chick farmers.  It's super fun.   We also did a couple stop-by visits with no success, but that's all part missionary work isn’t it  J

Wednesday started with service at the foodbank for a couple of hours.  We ended up loading boxes in to cars for 3 hours or so.  It was a really fun time.  After the foodbank we headed to a lesson with J___. It's was a referral lesson with the Sister Missionaries, but it didn't really go anywhere. J__ is a less active member who just moved into our area.  We will be doing some less active work with her - which is mainly what this area consists of.   Working with Elder Ramsden is a blessing.  We get along well and understand each other. So, it makes for a fun day with little to no stress. We finished the evening with a dinner appointment.

Thursday we had a lesson and then we helped someone move.  Other than that, there was not much to report.  During our study time I was reading the General Conference talks given this past weekend about failure and how failure is a way of learning and how we can turn our stumbling blocks into stepping stones and we can become more like our Lord, Jesus Christ.  I've come to embrace and to love the trials that I have had during my life, because they have shaped me in to who I'm supposed to be when the judgement day comes.  I also learned a lot about meekness and being humble so it was a very good time spent studying.

Friday was more service.  We helped lay some pipe for the S__ family.  We also did our weekly planning and helped the Sisters with some yard work service.  It was a fun day because I love service.

I always remember the scripture Mosiah 2.17, which reads:

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

Oh how great shall be your joy, knowing you are serving your God?

Saturday:  We did more service involving fixing barbed wire fences for 3-4 hours it was fun, but the barbed wire stuck me once pretty good. A barb jabbed under my thumbnail and I started bleeding a lot, but it was all good.  Man, I just love this area and I love serving these people.  It's such a fun time.  We also ran over a snake. It was a Sonoran Coachwhip. You should research it. It’s not poisonous, but scary none the less.  A church member in one of our wards is mounting the skin for us – for the fifth wheel trailer we live in. I might send my portion home in a mailing tube ha-ha

Sunday was brutal!  We had another 8 hours of church spread over the three wards we cover. It was a really  good Sunday.  It was really cool seeing all the changes being instituted into our Sunday meetings, almost instantly.  The Spirit was there in all the meetings and it was wonderful.  The testimonies were fantastic as well as being able to sit and learn in the Benson Ward Sunday school.  It was a fun learning about the history and the ministry of Jesus Christ and how in his 33 years on this earth he did not travel farther than 150 miles, but the amount of lives he impacted was amazing.  After Sunday school and Priesthood meeting we had a dinner appointment and then we came home and did our studies because we were exhausted from being at the church from 8:30 until 4:30.

I just want to thank yall for your love and support. I would love to hear from y’all sometime.

Love you, keep the faith,

Elder Connor William Dickinson