Week 11 in Palermo: Successful Surgery

Hey guys! This last week consisted of getting ready for the surgery, going in and getting it done, and then going stir-crazy in the house!

I survived!

On Wednesday we had to pick up my own tube that they would be inserting the next day into my ear. Only in Argentina does the patient have to go all over the city to get all of her own tests and surgery items! Thankfully the doctor didn't ask me to pick up his tools and my anesthesia as well;) 

The tube

Early Thursday morning my companion and I headed out to face my destiny! .... in the rain! We got to the Zabala Clinic at about 8:40. Hermana Ayre met up with us at 10:30 and I was off at 11 to get changed and put on the operation table. It was pretty ironic, given that the surgery was only going to last 10 minutes. After getting dressed in the paper hospital garb, they put me in a wheelchair. I've honestly never been in a wheelchair, and less so without my glasses. The entire situation had a horror movie feel as the wheeled me into the operation room. All I could see were bright lights and blobs saying hi to me. I got up on the table and they got the IV ready. The doctor told me not to be nervous. I told him to hurry up and knock me out. 

I woke up three hours later. The best part? I could hear! WOOO! Hermana Ayre took us back and for the next couple days we took it easy. Every little sound was incredibly amplified! I hadn't realized before how LOUD my world was. 

Throughout the entire process my companion was there, helping me out and getting everything ready for the surgery. It's been quite the experience, and I've learned a lot. I've learned to be patient. I've learned to be thankful for the little things. 

Puerto Madero 

I've learned to trust in God's plan for me. 

I would never have planned on getting a surgery in a different country. But I've been kept very safe. I know that God loves me. That he cares about the little things. And he doesn't just care about the little things in MY life. He cares about the little things in Your life too. Trust him! 

I'm so thankful to be here in the mission, serving in Palermo with Hermana Cuevas. Thank you for all of the prayers and for all those who have been with me for this little surgery:)

Love you all!  

Hermana Dickson

A Week of Complicated Miracles: Week 10 in Palermo

Hey guys! This week has been a trying one. It consists of a LOT of doctor visits, lack of members to accompany us, pouring rain, and a little pain. It also consists of the companionship of the spirit, loving members, kind daughters, surprise temple trip, getting lost multiple times due to lying colectivos, and being led to someone ready to hear the gospel. In other words, It'll be quite the letter this week;)

Monday: "To God our DIRECTION is more important than our SPEED"

After a pretty chill Pday that consisted of writing, going to the doctor (Yes, during Pday! The inhumanity), and getting my hair cut we headed off into the wild wet yonder of Buenos Aires, Palermo area. We went to go get Daiana, as is the Monday custom, to go to our FHE with Kathy. We got there a little early, so we visited Carlitos first, reading with him from the scriptures before going to Kathy's. When we rang her doorbell her son answered, telling us that no one was home. That would have been quite a shame, as it had started raining. However, when we called her cellphone she said that she'd be right down. Once all together upstairs we finished 17 Miracles. As the movie ended Kathy started bearing her testimony, tears in her eyes as she shared her testimony that her deceased husband was in a better place and that she Would see him one day, that as a family they would be reunited. She is such an example to me of faith and patience. We ran home afterwards, as it had started pouring! However, although I got soaked, my scriptures didn't;) Blessing, I think so! 

Tuesday: "Will I let myself be led?"

On Tuesday, after our District Meeting we went to the doctor:) Oh yes, because I lived in the doctor's office this week. We went to talk with my doctor and show him the results for the day before and the the week before. He very quickly informed me that I would need to have a tube put back in once more. I was sort of ok with that, as I'd like to hear again, but at the same time it's surgery, which is always joyful, especially in a random country that is not your own without your parents or siblings or anyone in your family... After such glad tidings we went to lunch at 3 and had Peruvian food, woo! From there we went to see Dr. Susanna and tell her that I was going to have surgery to get the tube put back in my ear. We thought she would be chill about it, but she freaked out and said that this was completely unnecessary... Talk about contradictory! We didn't get back to our area until very late, and didn't end up having time to work. We did grab a tub of ice cream on the way back, as a treat for being in the doctor's all day. That night we went down to see my hijas and shared ice cream:)

Wednesday: "You are doing better than you think you are"

Early in the morning, after not eating breakfast, my comp and I were off to get a blood test done. It was really quick, and after getting back home and studying we went to send the results of my other ear tests to an American doctor that Hermana Ayre was consulting with. After lunch, which consisted of fancy tea cups, we visited a whole lot of nothing. We were able to work in our area, but didn't have a member to accompany us, and no one was home. At one point my feet hurt so much from walking for hours that we had to take a five minute break so I could rest them. Needless to say I was a little frustrated by all of the doctor's visits and the lack of visible success in our area. I felt like we were giving our all and weren't seeing any results. I was frustrated and a little down. We did get to visit Anderson before going to our correlation meeting with our mission leader and Elder Hunter. I was able to explain to the two of them my concerns regarding the area and that we were really struggling to find new investigators and get members to accompany us, as everyone is finishing up the school year or working. They told me not to get frustrated, that this was a hard area and that they knew that we were working hard and making changes in the ward, even if we weren't finding new people to teach. I did my best to believe them, but as we got home I still just felt out of it. I knew that the next day would consist of the doctor all day, and the member that was going to accompany us would need to be informed that we wouldn't need their help. The irony of this didn't help anything... In the end I sent a message to my district leader, Elder Kelly (Yep, the same from the MTC!) and asked him if he'd give me a blessing of comfort the next day. He agreed right away. 

Thursday: "Do I chose belief over doubt?"

After planning for the week and grabbing lunch with the Gonzales family Elder Kelly, his comp, and two other elders came to the church to give me the blessing. It was Exactly what I needed, and felt a lot more at peace and calm after the blessing was given. I thanked them and then we jumped on a bus to go to retiro. However, the bus ended up going in the opposite direction... and we had to jump ship and grab the subway to make it there. On the way we ran into 4 more elders from our zone, so I saw pretty much everyone that day;) Once in retiro we took the train to San Isidro, where I had an appointment with a private doctor that Dr. Susanna had recommended, as she wanted us to get a second opinion before doing any sort of operation. Everything was chill until we get off the train and are greeted by a DOWNPOUR. I hadn't even left the house with a jacket, as the day before we'd been dying off due to heat. However, Ayelen had lent me a little jacket. My comp and I hadn't even brought our umbrellas, and so we go swimming through the rain to the mission house. Neither of us could see anything, as rain water and contacts just don't mix, and I almost lost my sock. We couldn't help but laugh at the insanity of the situation as we got totally drenched. I had tied a plastic bag around my carrying bag, and I had my curly bangs falling in my face.

As we got close to the mission house we both said a silent prayer that President wouldn't be around to laugh at us. No such luck... He's the one that let us in! After taking pictures his wife came in and handed us towels... yep, we were that bad! It was their son that really cracked me up. He was eating a sandwich when we came in. We must have looked like poor little drowned hobos, because he stopped eating mid-bite and asked us if we wanted it. We kindly declined the half-eaten sandwich, to which he came back with little candies. Sweet kid;) After kind of drying ourselves off President made us take his umbrella. We then got in the car with Hermana Ayre who was going to drive us to the doctor. We were greeted by granola bars and blueberries! Woo! We drove there and talked to the doctor. He cussed in English to "help me understand the gravity of the situation". He then apologized, asking us if we were religious people, which obviously we are... He agreed wholeheartedly that I needed a tube. Thank you captain obvious! Good to get a second opinion however. Upon leaving he apologized once more for the bad word. Hermana Ayre told him not to worry, as she didn't know any cuss words in Spanish. We didn't have the heart to tell her that it had been in English... We got home really late once more, and swam to our apartment, where I made my comp a fancy dinner... hot dogs;) 

Friday: "Spiritual experiences must lead to action and faith"

3:30am the alarm that we had set doesn't go off

4:30 Hermana Sommers, who is magically awake, asks us what time we needed to leave

5:30 we run outside to catch the bus to go to.... THE TEMPLE! :D Woo! 

Upon leaving the temple, which was an incredible experience, we went to the doctor. Or tried to. He'd given us the wrong address! After waiting around for a good hour and getting snapped at by mean receptionists we ask if there is another Swiss medical nearby, as the one we are currently in obviously isn't what we want. We're sent to the correct office, get my doctor to sign the authorization for my ear surgery, and then are sent to the "initially incorrect" office to get them to send the form. Talk about a pain! We didn't get done until 3 and didn't get to eat until 4. I was so hungry that I was sure I'd eat whatever they'd given us.

 Are these little fish anchovies or sardines or something else?

My companion enjoying the little fish!

After lunch we went to pick up my blood test results. 

 We visited with a couple people before running to dinner with Hermana Saverry: pizza! Woo! 

Saturday: "The Savior can help the weak become strong because he has been where the weak have been"

We did NOT go to the doctor this day! However we did have lunch turn into a vianda at the last moment, which meant our morning plans to contact their neighbors and teach some retention lessons to Lautaro and Zuleika went down the drain... However, it was super yummy!

After eating we headed out the door. On the way to pick up the member that was going to accompany us she canceled due to health complications. However, her sister kindly accompanied us! We visited a couple people close to her house and then visited Sandon. 

Sunday: "Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time"

The culmination of the week! We took the subway to take the colectivo to get to stake conference:) At least, that's what we tried to do... it didn't work out as planned, as the colectivo we planned on taking didn't seem to exist! However, arrive we did, and on time at that! After the conference, which was quite good, my comp and I went out to catch the colectivo to go to lunch. On the way to the stop a woman stopped us and said, "Do you guys believe in hell?" At first I considered not stopping and answering the question, but decided to give it a shot. As we talked with her it became clear quickly that she was truly interested and wanted to find the truth. We did the best we could to answer her questions. Some of them were challenging, but I found all of the answers coming to mind at the moment I needed them. We left her with a pamphlet on the plan of salvation, that explains where we came from, why we're here, and where we go afterwards. We got down her name and number so the sisters of the Boca could visit her. She walked away, already reading the pamphlet! Talk about an unexpected miracle! 

Getting to lunch was another adventure, as the colectivo seemed determined to take us who knows where, but we made it anyway, on time once more! We ate with the Hunters, WOO! 

After lunch we were able to make a lot of visits.

It was quite the week, but despite all of the hardships we saw miracles.

God's in the work.

Hermana Dickson

My cousin, Hermana Temple is now serving in Chile with a sweet sister that was in my first ward here in the mission (Parque Patricios). Such a small world!

Only In The Service of God Week 9 in Palermo

 The famous Buenos Aires "flower"

Monday: "We work according to God's timing"

After a wonderful Pday touring the city of Buenos Aires we went off to work per the normal. We were planning on taking the subway to our area. We had already paid and entered the train station when a lady announced that the train was having problems and would be arriving late. We waited a good 10 minutes before a train came pulling into the station. Something you should know about subways in Buenos Aires: during rush hour hundreds of people use the subway. There is no air conditioning, and no respect for personal space. People will fight and push, quite violently, to shove as many bodies on or off as possible. It's expensive. It's also the fastest way to get to our area. With all of that in mind we did our best to get on the dumb train, but we didn't want to get trampled as people fought to get on the EXTREMELY full train. After it left we decided to wait for the next, although we knew it was going to be jam-packed as well. My patience was leaving as quickly as the people kept entering the train platform. There had to be about 200 of us waiting for the next train that was sure to be full as well. My companion was waiting patiently, although she knew this wasn't working out. Frustrated, I said a prayer, asking Father if I needed to fight my way onto the train or if we needed to leave and find a colectivo, or a bus. After praying and opening my eyes I found myself right in front of a rail that said "Peligroso". Aka Danger. I didn't need any more of an answer than that, and up we went, finding a colectivo and making it to our area in time to collect Daiana and go to Kathy's for our Family Home Evening. We watched half of "17 Miracles", a VERY powerful pioneer film that Kathy and Daiana loved:)

My greenie: Hermana Cuevas

Tuesday: "It will all Work out"

We had lunch with Sandon! It was kind of the peruvian version of good ol Kentucky Fried chicken, yeaahhh buddy;) After lunch my ear started driving me crazy and my head started pounding. Welcome to my sick mission life;) I started getting pale as well, which instantly signaled to my companion that something was up. We went straight home, to which my companion helped me put some drops in. I actually fell asleep for a couple hours that I really needed before we headed to the pharmacy to get me something for the pain before heading back to our area in time to go with Daiana and visit Carlitos:) We finished decorating his wall with pictures of Christ and then ran to the appointment we had with the Fenoglio family:) They had told us we would be helping them with some service, but when we got there we were greeted by pizza... not really what i had in mind, but not bad;) (name that Disney reference!) However, we were able to serve the family by getting to know their daughter, who isn't around much, and their two little boys as well! We've been seeing a lot of positive change with the family and know that God is blessing our efforts to serve and strengthen the members of our ward.

Wednesday: "Positive and negative things work together for our good"

Zone Conference! Learned lots of good stuff, got to see President, and got a blessing for my ear:) We didn't get back to our area until pretty late, but we managed to pick up our vianda and get over to the Lopez family. They live extremely far away, and we've been really working to get out of the part of our area where we always work to meet new people and try to find more people to teach! We went with Zulieka and her sisters and contacted the entire neighborhood practically! It's pretty much country out where they live, which is such a beautiful change after the city city city of Palermo... so nice to see rustic stuff like GRASS. Needless to say, we thought out of the box and out of the city;)

In Chinatown Buenos Aires

Thursday: "Yielding to the Lord's way is the Only way"

The entire day my companion and I were guided by the spirit. Our lunch, upon arriving, was not present, and told us to come back for dinner. We therefore went walking, bought a loaf of bread and some sandwich meat on the way and went to our next appointment, about 15 blocks away. Upon arriving at Dani's house we ate our lunch with her picnic style. We also took the time to talk to her and listen to what she had to say. At one point, after we had eaten and shared a scripture I felt like we needed to leave, as we'd already spent a lot of time at her house and we had a member to accompany us. I was focused more on the time than on what she was saying, until a voice told me to LISTEN. To stop worrying. That Dani was going to say something that I needed to hear. Something I needed to know. And so I stopped worrying, and started listening. As we were there our member sent us a message to tell us he wasn't going to make it. God was making it possible for us to stay and listen. And listen we did. The things Dani shared were so jam-packed of the spirit that I felt as though she were the missionary and I was the investigator for a moment. She told us that the second coming was much closer than we knew, and that when Christ was coming Satan wouldn't instantly be bound. That Christ was going to need warriors, those whose faith had been tested to fight, to stand with him and bind Satan for a thousand years. We left spiritually and temporally full. Upon leaving we visited with Daiana briefly before going to our dinner. Upon arriving we were handed the food in sacks.... leaving us with some extra time. ... We decided to see if Hermana Fenoglio was home to offer to help her in some way. She doesn't have a phone, or a doorbell, or even a camera to see us, and I was doubting as to how we would ever get her attention. However, a second later she turned the corner and saw us, inviting us in. NOT a coincidence in the least. Once inside we were able to serve her through taking out the trash and washing the dishes. She didn't want us to have to work, and said that we were here to serve God. I told her that when we were in the service of our fellow beings we were only in the service of our God, and that she needed to allow me to serve her to serve God. It worked! God led this day, and although our number of lessons with a member or other numbers were low, the spirit was so high. A GREAT day.

Friday: "The spirit continually challenges us to be better and climb higher"

On Friday we had the newbie meeting... again! President and his wife did a great job as usual, and after eating we went to my doctor's appointment, where we did a hearing test. What fun! ;) We then met up with Ayelen who was going to accompany us. We visited a ton of people and went through all of our plans, but everything fell through. However, we were able to serve Ayelen by putting some pictures of Christ in her house as well:)

Saturday: "The Holy Ghost really does give customized counsel"

Once again we did our best to find people! 

Sunday: "The atonement is also for Saints"

On Sunday we had lunch with Kathy Campos and the family:) After eating, super good by the way, I told her that I wanted to wash her dishes. There were quite a few, and she seemed hesitant, but I jumped to it, telling her that I was a professional dishwasher and that I washed them FAST! I don't know if she believed me, but she let me wash anyway;) And I was indeed speedy! Caught her off guard by my speed;) We then helped her out by taking her daughter to the church to practice for the primary program. As we walked to the church we got to know Sasha a little bit better:) Upon arriving we could see that the kids were all going a little crazy. I jumped in and helped two of the little ones out, Aaron and Ivo, sitting in between them and keeping them from going crazy. The primary pres made good use of me and had me playing the piano, leading the music, singing a freaking solo, and singing with the little kids... Yikes! But oh well, it all went well. 

To finish off the week my comp and I made pancakes and ate them out on the balcony with dulce de leche... yes, be jealous!

So, a service filled week! 

And all of the quotes are from this last general conference, quotes I had written into my planner before this transfer even started. Crazy how each corresponds with what happened during the day. Yep, go back and take a peek;)

Hermana Dickson out!

Seeing the Miracles in Palermo, after the trial of your faith. Week 8

Her guys! This letter will be quick but full of awesome things! Therefore you should READ it! Yep, that's right, actually take the time to read this awesome letter! Ha;)

 Tour of Buenos Aires for P-day today, lots of pictures!

Anyway, this week I wanted to focus on the progress of the recent converts here in Palermo, and in the miracle we received at the end of the week, after working our tails off, going to the doctor, going to the police, going practically to Porta Madero etc! 

Anderson: Gave us referrals and accompanied us!

Daiana: She's already halfway done with Mosiah! Also sharing the gospel with all of her friends and going to accompany us.

Carlitos: half paralyzed, he is reading the Book of Mormon every day and read out loud with us! We also decorated his room with pictures of Christ which he loved:)

Zuleika and Lautaro: Upon giving each of them a couple pass along cards and asking them who we could invite they left the house and started inviting the entire street! The primary was FULL of little friends the next day!  

 

 

 

 

Funny comments of the week;)

"It's cuz I'm short and stout!" 

"But hamburgers don't have babies!" (Don't ask...)

"It's cuz I'm brown!"

"It touched the butt!" (Yes, this is a Nemo reference;)

After a long week of searching and not finding investigators, Ayelen, a member who's preparing to serve a mission, accompanied us. We were in the middle of our daily plans when she turned to me and said that she felt that we needed to visit Hermana Saverry. I didn't think much of it at first, as Hermana Saverry is an active sister in the church. I didn't see how visiting her would help us find people to bring to church the following day. I short of shrugged the suggestion off until she told me again that she felt we needed to visit Hermana Saverry immediately. The second time I couldn't deny that the spirit was working with us, and we went immediately to Hermana Saverry. 

 

Upon entering we found ourselves visiting with the hermana and her husband. We were having a good conversation regarding the Book of Mormon when Hermana Saverry's daughter entered the room with her friend Delia. I didn't think anything of it, and certainly didn't recognize this as our great miracle of the week. As Delia started talking and sharing that she was going through a hard time as her son had died just 3 months before I felt prompted to tell her that her son was alright and promise her that she Would see him again. We then started teaching her a little about the church. My companion gifted her a Book of Mormon and gave her the direction to church, to which she said she would love to go! When Hermana Saverry bore her testimony regarding the church and the Book of Mormon Delia started to cry as the spirit bore testimony to her that what we were all sharing is what she had been looking for for 3 months. Man did we leave pumped! And all for follow the prompting of Ayelen. If we hadn't listened to such a simple prompting we wouldn't have received the miracle that God had waiting for us. 

 

Mallory wishing her dad Happy Birthday!

 

 

The next day, Sunday, Delia came to church! After the meetings we went up to her and I told my comp to set the baptismal date with her. Hermana Cuevas did an excellent job and Delia accepted a date for the 15th of November! VAMOS! 

It IS worth it to follow the small promptings we receive. To trust in the spirit. And more than anything, to have FAITH. 

Hermana Dickson

ALSO... a challenge for those who want to take this on! We had the chance as a mission to meet with President Gonzalez of the seventy this week. He taught us about the importance of increasing our faith and talked a lot about the importance of the Book of Mormon in this goal. I personally, after hearing him speak, set the goal to read and finish the Book of Mormon focusing on the faith before going home. I'm going to read the Book of Mormon in 48 days, what I had left 2 or 3 days earlier! The challenge: Those who can or want to, read it with me, looking for the faith! 

 

 

Write me with your comments on what YOU find on faith. 

Love you all!