On Thursday, the 16th of April, I celebrated my
illustrious 9 month mark in the mission. This signifies that I am now
halfway done with my mission, and everything is down hill and racing
from here! In the very beginning of the mission President Ayre shared
with my district regarding a certain mountain, the mountain of the
mission. He drew it on the board, telling us that the first 9 months
were all uphill, steep and rugged, without the ability to see the top or
over to the other side. He then drew the second half, a sharp downward
decline to the other side. He told us that as soon as we hit the halfway
mark we were a blink from home, and would be fighting to keep up with
the pace of the time. Let me tell you, at the beginning of the mission
we all laughed/inwardly cried, thinking that such a day would Never
come, as every day seemed to stretch into a month! And yet, having
reached that top of the hill, I can safely say that President was
completely right. The first 9 months were quite the climb. I couldn't
see the top of the mountain, and the other side seemed impossibly far
away. And now, hanging out on the top and looking down at the 9 months I
have left, I can say beforehand that it's going to FLY by. I have been
so blessed to have been sent to the best mission in the world, Buenos
Aires Norte, Argentina. My other friends on missions may contest
such, but it's an undisputed fact. ;)
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Hermana Hawkins and I, now in the same zone! (She's a sister training leader.)
This is us after 9 months in the mission.
Hermana Hawkins and I at the MTC together, in the beginning!
As for the week,
Hermana Yancey and I have been working extremely hard to find escogidos,
or people that truly are prepared and waiting to find the gospel. We
made tons of plans, walked until my feet gave up, and talked with tons
of people. And yet, we didn't end up finding anyone this week. I have to
say, as yesterday rolled around and we didn't have anyone at church I
was feeling pretty frustrated. On Saturday
night I'd been pleased with the work we'd put in, and was sort of
banking on the fact that the Lord would help us get someone to church.
We didn't have anyone at church as an investigator.
But,
as we went through the rest of the day and I gave it more thought I
couldn't help but see all the little miracles my companion and I had
witnessed throughout the week. All the people we had touched in little
ways. All of the effort we had put in. We hadn't been able to bring an
investigator to church, but we had brought a young girl and her cousin
to church. The young girl, Carmela, isn't baptized yet, although she has
turned 8. The cousin was attending regularly, but always went at 9:30, missing the sacrament every week. We had gone to the house at 8:30
in the morning with the intent of bringing Juliana, Carmela's mom who
isn't a member. She wasn't there, but we did bring the two girls to
church. We brought two more souls to the sacrament. As I contemplated on
the little act I couldn't help but Feel that we had done what we could
do. That the Lord was pleased with our work, and that we Would find.
My view of San Fernando
from our porch/laundry room
This is my 'washer and dryer'! It's outside on the balcony.
We
saw many little miracles as we helped less active members feel the
spirit. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary, or anything that
hasn't been done before, but we brought the spirit. We shared from the
scriptures, we prayed with them, we built them up spiritually and then
asked for referrals. And we received quite a few referrals this week. I
have realized that I need to do less "scheduling for the next
appointment", and more acting in the moment. Sharing the scripture NOW,
not setting another day to do it. Saying the prayer now, or inviting
them to do so. Because these people need to feel the spirit Now. That is
what is going to make the change in these people. In this work. I can't
stress that enough. If we are not bringing the spirit to Every person
we speak to we are Not succeeding. As missionaries. And also as
members.
In the train station of Tigre, waiting for our zone activity to start.
train station
Attempting to eat a cookie with no hands, fun p-day activity with the zone:
As we worked this week we brought the spirit, not only to those around us, but to each other. How I love the work.
Letters to all my dear converts.
Turns out my current companion is an amazing artist and was studying art at BYU-I before the mission!
9 months to go!
With my current companion, Herman Yancey.
Hermana Dickson.
(Thank you to all who prayed for and continue to pray for Mallory! She had been quite sick for 3 weeks but is finally well.)
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