What a week! Monday all of our appointments cancelled. Tuesday we had 4 appointments. Wednesday we had 4 appointments. We also got a call today from an investigators mom telling us about her husband. He has a lot of issues and is an alcoholic. So we went over and talked to them and read the Living Christ with them. Thursday was a good day. We had zone conference. Every zone conference we have a theme scripture and have to prepare a talk on it. Then at the conference President will pick 4 missionaries to give their talk. I was one of them. I was also the only one who prepared anything to share. The scripture was Doctrine and Covenants 46:7. I focused my talk on prayer and used the conference talk "Prayer is a privilege". It was pretty good, well that's what I heard. It was kind of hard this conference. A lot of friends that I have made on the mission are starting to go home. 2 of the sisters I am close with are going home. It was still good besides the fact that a lot of them are going home. After conference we had 2 lessons and a correlation meeting. Friday we had DTM and then planning afterwards. We had one lesson the whole day. It also started to snow that night while we were out tracting. NOT fun! We got a call today from an investigators mom saying that her husband is coming into town and if we could do the baptism as soon as possible. So we scrambled to get everything done for the baptism on Sunday. It all was depending on if she went to church or not Sunday. She did and she got baptized. A lot of people were there for being last minute. It was good.

Saturday was a long day. We had 4 lessons and got our transfer calls. President Pitts called us which only means that someone is training. He first talked to Sister Smith and told her that she is moving to Mapleton and will be training and opening an area. She then handed the phone to me. President told me about Sis. Smith and then told me that I am staying in Lehi and will be training a new missionary coming in from the MTC. We are super sad to be leaving each other but are excited as well. We both want to give these new sisters a good experience with a trainer. Since we both struggled a little bit. Transfers are tomorrow.

The last couple days Sister Smith and I have been dreading transfer day just because that means we won't be together any more. We are super grateful and love being out here. I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving and birthdays for Jason, Gerrit and Rachelle. I love you and miss you!

Love,
Kelcie

What a crazy busy week. Sister Smith and I made a companionship goal to teach 40 lessons this last week. We were 5 short. By the time we got to the weekend we were so tired. Especially after Friday. We had some crazy things happen. Friday night we ate with some members and right in the middle of dinner the dad turned and punched his son that is moved him to the other side of the chair. We ended up reporting it, we both had a feeling that it wasn't the first time that it has happened. After that we talked to one of our investigators mom and she told us a lot of things that is going on with her son. He was supposed to be getting baptized this coming Saturday but he is no longer on date. He keeps canceling appointments as well. We are trying to meet with him and talk some sense back into him. He is throwing his life away. It is so sad.

This last Tuesday we went up to Traverse Mountain (by Cabellas) and looked for the asteroid. I first saw a shooting star and about ten minutes later Smith and I saw the asteroid. It was really cool. We were hoping we would see another one but we didn't. It was super relaxing to go watch for it even though it was freezing cold.

This last week we were able to meet with the ex-polygamist again, Zanny .We taught the Plan of Salvation. She grew up being taught that God is a God of fear and hellfire and damnation. It was so sad. By the end of the lesson she was happier and I think realized that God really is our loving Heavenly Father. It breaks my heart to hear people believe that.

We also taught Dave. We knew he had Word of Wisdom problems and so we taught about that. He told us that he is going to quit cold turkey for his smoking habits. He has done it before. We tried to focus a lot on how bad it is for our bodies and that our bodies are a precious gift given to us. We compared our bodies to the temple. Dave is a cool guy. He is the one that came up to a member and told him that he wants to be baptized. It was funny a few days before we taught Dave, we were at correlation. On the correlation paper we put that he has WoW addiction. One of the men in the room asked if it was a world of warcraft addiction. We were laughing so hard.

Funny story. One day this week we taught Brianda. Her little brother Juan was sleeping on the couch and in the middle of the lesson he sits up like he was just waking up. He sat there for about a minute. He then got up and walked to the kitchen. He opened the fridge, stared into it, closed the door. Turned around. Went back to the couch, laid down and fell right back into a snore. It was hilarious. We realized that he was sleep walking the whole time. After we left the appointment we saw a young family carrying in groceries with 3 young kids. We asked them if we could help. They said yes. We were both shocked. We always hear no we are fine. We found out that they are not members and told us they have 4 or 5 turkies that they want to donate to the church for some families that will need the help. It was so sweet. It was fun to get to know them as well and be able to serve them.

Yesterday at church we spoke in one of the wards. We focused on member missionary work and how we are here to help Heavenly Fathers children. Smith focused on the blessings of doing missionary work. It was really good. Especially since there is a lot of work in the ward that we spoke in. A lot of people told us that what we said is what they needed to hear. Then we went to another ward with an investigator. They just got a new bishopric and the counselor was conducting. They did some callings and when it came to any opposed he said it really weird and half of the congregation raised their hands. We all died laughing. A member of the high council was there and said it was fine. It was hilarious. I have never seen it before.

We had some really good lessons this week. A lot of our investigators are progressing and are doing really well. We have a lot on date for the end of the month and are doing really well. I love being out here. I don't regret any minute of it. There is a lot of work to do and we have seen so many miracles and tender mercies. Heavenly Father really does love all of us individually. There was a quote that someone said in a talk yesterday was "it's nice to be nice to be nice." It is so true. It pays to serve and to reach out and help other people. The gospel is true and is never changing, it is a gospel of order. I am so grateful for that. I love reading back over the conference talks from this last conference. It is amazing. I love you all and are so grateful for you.

Love,
Hermana Dickson

This has been a busy week! We ended up with 25 lessons, 5 new investigators, a baptism, and a whole lot of fun. I love being in Lehi. We have a great district and I have the best companion ever! We are so excited that we are still together. We were realizing the other day that 1 year ago we were companions and to celebrate our 1 year we will be together! We love it. Also to celebrate our 1 year out we will be having a baptism of our favorite investigator! We are super excited. He was supposed to get baptized a few weeks ago but his semi truck broke down in Chicago. We are just hoping nothing happens this week so he can return and get dipped on Thursday. So far so good.

Monday for P-day we had a district activity. We played the Amazing Race around Lehi. Smith and I totally won! Except for the part we were helped some of the elders who didn't know the area, so they say. They are in our zone but don't serve around here in Lehi. But we beat all of the elders in our district. We are find with that. We would've beat everyone but we missed a clue, well writing it down and so we were driving around trying to find an address. The funny part is that we drove by it 2 or 3 times and didn't see the clue in front of the house. What is even funnier is one of the elders figured out the clue and ran into the persons house and said we won and then they looked at them and told them that the clue is outside. It was hilarious! We laugh about it all the time. That night we had a ward FHE with the Spanish ward. It was fun. This is the best spanish ward i have been in. Tons of members!

Tuesday we had a service project with an investigator. She makes her own soap and she taught us how to make it. It is really cool and it feels good. I have a lot of pictures and the formula. It is a lot cheaper than buying it. After we had an appointment with Susan. We kept it short. Later Tuesday night she sent us a text telling us that she needs time and that she doesn't want us to come back. We were like what happened? The lesson went well. She is just confused and is trying to find out for herself if it is true or not. She is 70 and quite religious in her own faith. We haven't been able to go back and see her but keep in contact with her. This week we will be able to see her. We also were able to teach Mikayla. She is so sweet. I think I've told you about her. She has a disability and we are teaching her. We teach one principle at a time and no longer than 10 minutes at a time. She is super sweet. We had an amazing lesson with Brianda and her sister Karina. They are 13 and 14. They are very interested but their parents won't let them get baptized. They always ask great questions that most people don't think of. It was the best lesson we have had with them.

Wednesday we picked up a new golden investigator, Kendra. Her parents are inactive and her brother just got baptized not too long ago. She wants to get baptized. We are planning for her baptism on November 4th. She is super cute. Her and her brother go to church by themselves. We also taught Madi. Her dad is anti and mom is an active member. We taught about the plan of salvation with her and she was very interested in it. She wants to get baptized but we need dad's permission :( We also taught Malvina. It was another great lesson with her. She shared how she has come to know that these things are true. She prayed and flipped open the Book of Mormon and the verse that she read was her answer. It was talking about having faith, being clean, and following Jesus Christ by being baptized. I love teaching Malvina. She is so sweet. She is one of my favorites. After Malvina we went and taught Edgar and Carmen. We watched Finding Faith in Christ and talked about the importance of following Christ and having a testimony of him.

Thursday we had a lesson with Mayra and her son. We talked about the Sabbath Day. Today was a slower day but it was good. We had DTM and stopped by to see Grey before his baptism.

Friday was another crazy day. I called Sister Pitts and asked her why I was super tired. Way more tired than normal. A few days before this I was not able to open my eyes they were so heavy. I called her and we found out that I probably am anemic. So I started taking iron pills. Little by little it's working. Today we did service for a person we are trying to teach. We also taught Mikayla, Brianda, and Carmen and Edgar again. We also ate with Larry and his wife and shared a thought with them. I love them. They are so sweet and so good to us. They are like family.

Saturday was a busy day. We taught Malvina in the morning. Tried to help someone move but they wouldn't let us. So we just talked to them. We also went tracting. While we were out tracting we met a girl who is an escaped polygamist. Her and her husband ran away so that they could get married. She is so cool. She is a strong person and has a great love of our Heavenly Father and Savior. We talked to her for about a half hour and scheduled a return appointment. Later that day, right before baptism she sent us a text and asked if we could come by tonight. We made time to go back after the baptism. We were able to do some service for her. Get to know her some more and shared a thought with her. We love her. We had a baptism today for an 11 year old. It was a good baptism. A lot of people were there.

Sunday was a slower day but it was good until we were leaving our last appointment. The appointment was good, very spiritual. As soon as we walked outside of the door we felt a wall of Satan. We just felt like something wasn't right. As we were walking down the stairs of the building we saw pools of what we thought was punch. As we got to the bottom of the stairs we realized it wasn't punch. We were out knocking on some doors before this appointment so our car was not parked close to the building we were in. As we continued walking to our car we both felt something wasn't right and the feeling kept getting stronger. It felt like my heart was in my stomach. Smith was like don't back me up just get in the car. We both were freaked out. So we got in the car and got out of there as fast as we could. I called the house we left and was like don't panic but make sure everything is locked. It is a single mom with 3 kids. She was like thank you are you guys okay. I told her we were fine but wanted to make sure they were safe. When we got home we asked our landlord for a blessing. It was creepy but we are both so grateful for the Holy Ghost and for the Priesthood. We decided we aren't going back there at night without a Priesthood holder.

This week has been a good week. Super busy but we love it! We are hoping for more success this week. I love being out here. I love serving with Smith and in Lehi. There is so much work to do here and a lot of people that are ready. We are finding a lot by the members. Before I got here they started a 40 day missionary fast in the Spanish ward and English stake. We have had a lot of success because of it. There is a lot of power in fasting and acting. I hope that you all have a wonderful week. I love you and am grateful for you.

Love,
Hermana Dickson

This has been a fun week! I love being with Sister Smith. We have had a lot of fun and are exhausted. For P-day last week we went and played laser tag! It was so much fun! There was a lot of us playing which made it fun. At one point I was hit in the face by a laser gun. It didn't feel very good. I was expecting it to bruise but it didn't. That night we had an amazing lesson with Malvina. She reads and has a study journal and always has questions for us! We love it. Tuesday was a busy day. We went and taught Susan (the hollywood actress). She is like Malvina. She keeps commitments and has questions. She doesn't really ask her questions because she waits to see if we answer them first. She is one funny lady. We love teaching her. We also taught Mikayla. Mikayla has behavior issues due to multiple brain surgeries. She is so sweet and super smart. When we go and teach her we teach one principle at a time due to attention span. She is super sweet. We also met a new family. They have been through a lot. The mom was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer 2 years ago and was given 3 months to lives. 2 years later she is still battling it and has such a great attitude. We are starting to teach them. The mom came to church on Sunday! And we also had dinner with them. This week we also started teaching 2 new people... well 2 people I hadn't met yet. One of them, Madi, her dad is anti and won't be able to get baptized unless he lightens up. The other one is on date for baptism. She is super sweet. Her husband is a member. She also makes soap and is going to teach us how this week. Saturday we got transfer calls. I will be staying in Lehi with Sister Smith for another 6 weeks! I am super excited, so is she. This week has been good. I don't have much time left so it's a short email this week. I am excited to be here and to be with Smith. This week we have one baptism hopefully 2. We have 8 people on date and are continually finding people. I love being out here. Next week will be longer and hopefully some pictures. I love you and am grateful for you!

Love,
Hermana Dickson

I loved Lehi! And I love being with Sister Smith again! We both have had some rough transfers and loved being able to not worry about it and do the Lord's work without struggling. We are trying to convince President and the AP's to keep us together for at least another transfer. 2 weeks is not long enough! We would love to finish the mission together but know that won't happen. Anyway this week has been amazing. The work is going along really well here. We have 7 people on date and have had people come up to us telling us they want to be baptized. The wards we cover are doing a 40 day missionary fast and there have been miracles and seeds planted. WE are teaching this lady who started out on Broadway in NY and is in Hollywood. She has been there for a while. She was in the TV series Murder She Wrote and about 40 other movies or tv series. Her name is Susan. She is 70 and is so sweet. She is one who came up to us and told us she wants to be baptized. Another amazing person we are teaching is Larry. Larry is a street fighter/chef/truck driver. He is one of my favorite people. Him and Susan are my favorites here in Lehi. Larry is getting baptized this week. For the lessons he gets dressed up in church clothes because he feels weird if he isn't being taught in them. It is so cool. Larry and his wife just had a baby girl about 3 weeks ago. She is adorable. They are such a great family. Another one that is on date and told us she wants to get baptized is Malvina. She has had a really hard last couple years. She tried committing suicide and has had issues with other things. She is so ready to be baptized and wants to change her life. She got an answer when she was trying to kill herself that she needed to go to the LDS church. So she did and knows that Heavenly father loves her and wants her to come back to Him. Those are some of the people we are teaching. This are is great. So many wonderful people and a lot of work to do.

So Sister Smith and I were able to go to General Conference on Saturday Afternoon. It was so much fun to go again. We would love to be able to go again in April. All of the talks were so good! I loved how a lot of the talks were about the Restoration of the gospel and the Book of Mormon. We had some investigators watching who loved it. Susan watched it and told us she wants a transcript of it. Sorry Ron and Missy I didn't see you! I had a feeling you were going to be on Temple Square. Too bad. We were on the same block at the same time but didn't see each other. We were on the west side of the temple.

Everything here is going great. Sister Smith and I love being together and don't want a transfer to come when we are going to be separated. We want to spend the rest of our mission together. President told us to have fun together and preach the gospel. We do both and don't want to be transferred. We will see what happens on Saturday. It is weird that transfer calls are this week. It feels like week 2 of a new transfer, not week 6. I guess that is what happens when you get transferred 3 times in 4/5 weeks.

I love you all. I am so grateful for the gospel and and the love of our Heavenly Father. We are so blessed to be living in this time when the fulness of the gospel is here. I hope that we will all remember it and apply it. Take and apply what you have learned in conference. There is so much to learn from it. I love you! I miss you!

Love,

Hermana Dickson

Sent: Tuesday, September 6, 2011 10:58:31 AM
Subject: week 46

This week was an interesting week! Monday we had breakfast with a family in Midway that helps us out a lot. Afterwards we ran some errands and I said bye to some people and packed. Tuesday we helped the Makin's pack during the day and then had some appointments. One of the investigators, Roberto, prayed for me that I would be safe and not forget him. It was really sweet. I also had the chance to say bye to Eugenia. Sister Aguilar and I were not looking forward to transfers and didn't want Wednesday to come. But it came anyway. My trainer came from Salt Lake to take us to transfers. It was fun to see her again. We got to transfers and I saw a bunch of missionaries that I hadn't seen in a while. We were there for a while waiting for the elders to come with our car. They didn't come until almost everyone was gone. Then we got lost trying to find our house... it is hidden! We get there and find that it is not cleaned and that they left us with no information or updated records. It was kind of frustrating. So we went to try to find the store and some other places. We didn't get too lost. THat night we had dinner with a bishop of one of our 2 wards. After a WML from the other ward picked us up and showed us where the chapel was and told us a little bit about who the elders were teaching. Thursday we finished cleaning and unpacking. The rest of the day we tried to find people. Same on Friday. We planned, well organized since we had no records of what was taught to who. Saturday we had some lessons and Sunday we were in meetings from 9-5. It was a long day. The end of the week I was having a hard time but yesterday I think I got it figure out. Hopefully. We have a huge area that covers most of Provo. I haven't run into anyone I know yet. WE don't cover campus but we cover everything around campus. This week we are going to keep tracting and get more investigators. There are a lot of people that are not members here, especially hispanics. Not a whole lot is new. We are just tracting and trying to not get lost. My companion, Sister Montano is from Mexico. She is 30 and is a convert. Saturday night we went to a Latin American Festival. It was fun. Tons of hispanics! I know it's short but not a whole lot is new. I love you and miss you! YOu are the best! I hope you all have a great week!

Love, Hermana Dickson

Hey everyone! This week was interesting! Monday we went on a hike/walk around Cascade Springs. It is gorgeous! We took a lot of pictures. All of the missionaries in Heber went but 2. A family took us up there. After we had a really good lesson with this family we are teaching in English. The parents are inactive and the kids are not baptized. We had a FHE with them and the dad said the opening prayer. We watched the Testaments with them. They really enjoyed it. We are seeing them again tonight. This week we also saw Eugenia. She is progressing. She was having a hard couple weeks but when we saw her last night she was really happy and told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true and that she needs to put her strength and trust in the Lord. She is one of my favorite people. I have seen a huge change in her in just 4/5 weeks. We also saw Roberto a couple times this week. He came to church yesterday but still has drinking problems. He is still progressing though and loves to learn. We just need to get him to stop drinking. We also started to FHE's with less actives and non members this week. We started off by doing one with Ricardo and his sister and her family. It was really good. We talked about how we need to prepare now for when Christ comes. They have been taught for a long time. I guess it scared them and they are really wanting to change. They came to church yesterday without us asking them to come! I think it worked. We just need to get them married so they can get baptized and continue to progress and be more prepared. It was funny. Friday we went and helped the Rivera's move. They are one of my favorite families here in Heber. They are less active and we always eat with them. They love having us over. We helped them paint and clean their new house over 2 days. The elders helped them move. Friday night we went on splits. I went to Midway and Aguilar stayed in Heber. I did a FHE with Margarita and her husband. We talked about faith. Afterwards they fed us pasoly. It was the best pasoly I have had. Saturday we had our district lunch. During lunch we got a call from President. I threw the phone to sister aguilar. It was transfer calls- they came an hour early. Sister Aguilar is staying in Heber and I am opening an area in Provo with Sister Montano. Transfers are Wednesday. I am sad to leave Heber but and also excited to be leaving and going back to the other valley. Not looking forward to more heat but it will be a good area. We saw the assistants this morning. They told me there are a lot of hispanics there. He told me I was going to love it! It will be good. I am sad to be leaving Sister Aguilar. We had a lot of fun together. But we kind of figured it would happen. Not a whole lot happened this week. The exciting things that happened was: Cascade Springs, transfer calls (kind of), Eugenia, Roberto and translating from English and Spanish. Yes, I was translating. We were helping out at an elementary school. I told Aguilar she couldn't leave me and she said the same. We ended up both having to translate at the same time. I didn't think I would be able to but I did it. I was SO surprised. I know Heavenly Father was helping me because there was no way I would have done it on my own. It was a great feeling. Anyway, I love it out here. The people are great. I am going to miss Heber and the people. They are so sweet up here. Yesterday in RS they had me go and bare my testimony. I started crying before I even started speaking. But I told them I will come back and visit. One nice thing about being called to serve in Utah, I can come and visit frequently. Anyway, the mission is the best. I am continually learning. The best part is seeing the change in other people lives. I have seen it a lot here. It is one of the best feelings. I love you all and miss you!

Love,
Hermana Dickson

Oh man this last week was so good! We had 20 lessons! Wohoo! Last Monday for P-Day we went to the Rec Center and played sports. It was super packed because of the holiday. We had some good games going on with other people. For dinner we went to an American's house. We usually don't eat with people on P-Day but they invited us to eat with them. We ended up tracting that night.

Tuesday we had a lesson with someone that I have not taught yet since I have been in Heber. We have to have another female go with us because two brothers live there together. They seemed interested but weren't home when we had a return appointment a few days later. We also taught Maria de Jesus, Ricardo and a girl named Jenny that we started teaching again. It was a pretty good day. We had 4 lessons and then went tracting.

Wednesday was kind of a slow day. We did a lot of tracting. We ended up having 2 lessons. One with Claudia and the girls. We taught a lesson then painted rocks to help them remember to pray. Hopefully it works :) We also taught a new investigator Angelica. Angelica has 2 boys and is interested but we can only teach a little bit at a time. Our other appointments that we had canceled.

Thursday was a busy day! We taught 7 lessons today. We played a prophets game with Maria and her grandson. It was fun. We are trying to get the boys more involved and trying to get them to go to church. The dad doesn't go to church because the boys don't go which means Maria doesn't go unless she has a ride from someone else. We also taught Jenny again. We taught Ricardo and played Sabbath Day Jenga with him. We created it to help explain good and bad things to do on the Sabbath. We also taught Marisela. She told us that she wants to get baptized but wants to get baptized with her husband which will be a long time. We are hoping that she will do it without him. Her son can baptize her in a couple of weeks. We also taught the Aguayo's. The last couple weeks they have canceled on us so it was good to get in and teach them again. We also taught a few other people.

Friday we had 2 lessons and planned. We taught Marisela and someone else. I can't remember who but we had 2 lessons. Friday night we had dinner with the Riveras. The elders ate their with us as well. It was a pretty good day. We fiound out that Salvador and his family are moving to Midway. They will still be in my area so we can still teach him :)

Saturday we had 3 lessons and a wedding. Wohoo! We taught Maria de Jesus and talked about the Sabbath day with her. We also taught Kenya a little bit. She is a very hard one to get a hold of. She just graduated H.S. and is starting to work full time. We also stopped by to see Claudia and the girls and invited them to the wedding. We went to the wedding to help set up at like 5. The wedding for Salvador and his wife was supposed to start at 7. They didn't get there until 7:30 or a little bit before. Welcome to hispanic time. Take Mormon standard time and add time to that and you have hispanic time. The wedding was really good. There was a lot of people there. We have one roadblock down for his baptism now are trying to get a few more done. We also got transfer calls today. We found out that we are both staying together in Heber for another 6 weeks. I was kind of disappointed at first but am excited about it. The last couple weeks have been pretty good.

Sunday we had 2 lessons. We also went and taught YW in an English ward. It was on missionary work. It was really fun. It has been a long time since I have been in YW. We taught Lupe as well as Maria and Yareli.

Monday was a busy day. I tried emailing when we usually do but the internet was down. So you are getting an email today. For P-Day we went and hiked the Timpanogos Caves. It was a lot of fun. The hike was 1.5 miles with a 1,000ish feet increase. It was gorgeous! I thought I was going to die going up on the hike but thanks to some of the elders who grabbed sticks and pulled me up the mountain. It was quite entertaining. It was such a steep hike and the altitude was awful. But it was worth it. We toured 3 caves and had a blast! I would totally do it again but get into a lot better shape! Monday night we had a branch FHE. It was good. We watched a movie and played charades. No one was there but 2 families. It was really good.

I hope that you are all doing well. I love you all and am so grateful for each of you! I love you and miss you! Have a great week. I will talk to you all on Monday.

Love, Kelcie

Ok, I think moms should never try to change outdated addresses. Anyway not without knowing what they are doing. The other day I noticed that Kelcie's MTC address was still listed. So the good mom I am to let all her friends know to sent her mail to the Mission Home address (She really likes to get mail) I thought I delete the MTC one. That is where the dilemma started. It deleted all her other info in that post as well.
Oh man, I finally figured out to post is somewhere. Surprise it ended up just under her header. Just in case it is hard to read I will post it again.
Sister Hermana Dickson
2520 N University, Ste 100
Provo, Utah 84604-3819
Now if I could just figure out how to post it on the side bar!

Week 23! One lucky Missionary who gets to go to General Conference!

This week went by so fast! A lot has happened. We have been walking a lot this week since we are running out of miles and don't get new miles until April so we are getting plenty of exercise in. I feel bad for the missionaries in walking areas. I think my feet are now callused or almost there. Sister shoes are not meant to walk in!

So this week we have met a Jehovah's Witness! It was my first one since I have been out! He let us in and we have a return appointment for tonight. We are so excited. We have been studying a lot this week for him! We are determined to get him baptized! He is very confused about his own beliefs.... hopefully by the end of this transfer we have him baptized or at least on date.

The other night we got a phone call from an investigator the English sisters are teaching. He is hispanic and wanted us to come over. So the next morning we went over. He told us their life story. He has been having kidney dialysis for 3 years now. He is 30ish. He is on disability and his wife has a bunch of medical problems. She got laid off of work a couple months ago and are really struggling financially. We are trying to get them food and some people in the ward have really stepped up to help them. They are a sweet family who have a lot of love for each other. The same day we went there we went back at night with some food and to teach a lesson. Hermana Reyes noticed some candles. I did too. One of them was Virgin Mary and the other was the Grim Reaper. Yes the grim reaper is a religion... it's the Holy Dead. It's almost voodoo/witchcraft. We were like oh man. So we are slowly working on them to get rid of them.

One of my favorite investigator families here are the Rodriguez family. The mom (Maria) and her 3 kids are taking the discussions. They are so ready for baptism. As soon as we put them on date for April 10 the oldest said that she has to wait until after her 15th birthday in October to get baptized because of her quinsinera. Her family wants her to have the catholic ceremony with it. She really wants to be baptized! Those kids are so smart. They are teaching us the lessons. Veronica (14) and Maria came to the General YW broadcast Saturday night. It was soo good! They both took notes and Maria was crying! We got tickets for them to go to General Conference this weekend!

The YW broadcast was amazing! You should go on and listen to it/read it. It was so good. Everyone I talked to was on the verge of tears if not already crying. I got a lot out of it about the 13th Article of Faith and how important it is for us to have these Christlike attributes. These attributes will help us reach the goal of the temple. The temple is a blessing and special place for us. Pres. Eyring spoke about testimonies. It was all SO good. After the broadcast I got a call from the ZL's telling me I am going to General Conference Saturday! I am so excited. My companions aren't going but I'm going with Sister Beck/Smith/Brignone and my old companion Tetelpa. I am super excited to be going.

So stories for the week:

1- We are teaching this guy Adolfo. He has read the Book of Mormon 4 times! He is ready for baptism. The other day we were teaching him and he asked me why I have a funny accent. I told him it was because I am American, I'm a gringa. I didn't know that I had a funny accent when speaking Spanish. I guess I do.

2. We were teaching Adolfo the last half of the Plan of Salvation and I was explaining the Celestial Kingdom. I told him that the Celestial Kingdom is compared to the south.... He corrected me and told me it was sun. I didn't realize what I said wrong until a half hour later. Oh man... words that sound alike or are very close make for good stories. Hermana Tanner does it all the time. It's funny.

3. We were out tracting all day yesterday. It was close to 8 and we were walking towards our house. We looked ahead of us and it was storming like crazy. We heard thunder and saw lightening. Every time lightening struck I would scream. It was close! Well we get about 2 or 3 blocks from our house and you hear the wind and it sounds like a heavy downpour of rain and leaves twirling in the wind. 2 seconds later it starts hailing! The hail was huge! So I told me companions to run to the house to our left that had a porch. Well it didn't lighten up and we were still being attacked. So I finally knocked on the door. The people answered and asked us if we were missionaries. It was funny. The ground was completely white after a minute and the roads were kind of slick.

Anyway, I love being out here! It is amazing. I love Payson. The people here are so good. I am so glad I am out here serving. I am learning so much. I love you all and am so grateful for you! Thanks for all that you do for me and for everyone else.

Love, Kelcie

Hey everyone!
Well I am now in Payson and love it. Payson is like Arlington/Darrington/Shelley all put together. It's a fun little place. The people here are wonderful. I have gotten into so many doors. THe people are really receptive to hearing from us. I have amazing companions. Hermana Reyes was born in Mexico but grew up in Vegas. She has been out for about a year. Hermana Tanner is fresh out of the MTC. She was born in B.C. and moved between the states and Canada all her life. She also went to BYU-Idaho for a couple semesters. She knows a little bit of Spanish. She is funny. The 3 of us get along great and have so much fun. Between our Spanish- or lack of- and just having fun while finding people or in the apartment. I actually feel like my Spanish is improving. I am slowly getting there but am understanding it more and more. Hna Reyes speaks a lot of Spanish to us and so I am picking up on it a lot faster than the last 2 transfers. We have about 10 investigators and picked up 2 more this last week. We put one on date. Payson Spanish ward includes 7 stakes with one Spanish ward.

So funny story. Wednesday, first day in Payson, we went to dinner but they forgot so we went to their restaurant, La Hacienda, for dinner. When we walked out back to our car it was really windy. I was wearing a shorter skirt and it flew up. I kind of felt like Marilyn Monroe. We were laughing so hard! My companions helped me get my skirt back down really quick. It makes for good laughs now and then. Hermana Tanner has some good oops moments that I will have to share later. Next week I will send pictures for sure. I forgot my camera this week. I don't have much time today since I wrote this letter last but I will tell you guys more next week. Okay a not so funny story. At correlation yesterday we were talking with a ward mission leader and he told us that 3 of our investigators (boys) should not be coming to church because they misbehave and it's like their mom is sending them to church so she doesn't have to deal with them. Both wrong! They all want to be baptized but are waiting for mom's permission and to be of age (well one of them). They are great kids, the mom just doesn't have much control over them. It was so frustrating that someone would deny someone else's salvation.

I am so grateful to be out here. I love it! I am so grateful to be a missionary and to be learning Spanish. Even if it has not been easy for me I am learning a lot! I know that our Savior lives and that He loves each of us. I know that prayer and reading our scriptures is what will help get us through each day. There is so much power in those two things. It is also a commandment for us to be doing those things. I know that He answers our prayers and that he knows what is best for each of us. I hope that you are continually coming unto Christ and helping others as well. I am grateful for each of you and for your love and support. You are the best!

Love, Kelcie

Where do I start? This week was an interesting week. We had 2 more baptisms and another wedding and attended 2 more baptisms. We also did a lot of tracting again. Here is the week in review:

Monday- P-Day! Spent the day in American Fork (well a couple hours) with the some of the English sisters. Afterwards we came home and finished laundry and cleaned. Nothing too exciting. That night we went and taught one of my favorite old ladies, Avis. We taught her the Plan of Salvation. We were there for about an hour and didn't get through all of it. She has a lot of questions about it and about where her husband is what he is doing. We told her that he is being taught the gospel just like her. She is happy and satisfied with that. We invited her to church again. She told us she was going to try, but that 9am was too early for her. I was thinking how is 9 too early for an 80 something year old lady. She is cute and hilarious. We also went and taught Norma and David- they got baptized and married the Saturday before.

Tuesday- We tracted out Windsor for a couple hours and had zero success. A lot of people in Windsor area are members or are not interested at all. There aren't a lot of Hispanics in this area at all. That night we had a baptism for Monica. She got there at 5 and started crying as soon as she put on the white clothes. She could feel the spirit from the start. Her baptism was one of my favorites so far. She was so ready and you could tell. All of her family was there except one son who is in Argentina. They are not members so it was good support for her. One of her daughters is interested as well. We are hoping she will come into Orem so that we can teach her at her mom's house. Monica's baptism was a special day for her. Not only did she get baptized but it was her birthday as well. It was a very special day for her and an amazing baptism.

Wednesday- We had a district lunch at Magleby's. It was pretty good food. Afterwards we went tracting in Geneva and then taught Francisco and his wife Norma. We watched the Legacy with them. He has been taught everything so we are reviewing things and trying to get him to commit to baptism. That night we taught Orbelin and watched the Legacy with him as well, and answered questions he had. Afterwards we had correlation.

Thursday- No lessons but we had 2 correlation meetings and went tracting :) My favorite thing to do....

Friday- We had a District Training Meeting and planned. We went tracting/contacting at night and then taught Norma and David again.

Saturday- We had a wedding for Gabriella and Juan Carlos. After the wedding Gabriella got baptized. They have been waiting for the divorce of him to be final so they could get married. She has been attending church for 4 years. She could teach us the lessons. It was a good baptism. Her daughter, who got baptized right after I got in the field gave a prayer. It was really special for them. After the baptism they had a lunch/reception. It was fun. That night we taught Orbelin.

Sunday- crazy day, as usual. We had 2 confirmations at the same day across town. Afterwards we taught Gospel Principles and then had another correlation. Then we met with a stake president. Went and tried to teach some lessons- no success. After we had correlation again. At this correlation, we were sitting in a room by the outside door and this young couple walks by. I said he and then thought that he looked kind of familiar. Two seconds later we both realized that we know each other. He and his wife walked back to the room and then we started talking. It was one of the guys from my ward in Salt Lake with his wife. They live in one of my areas. It was really random but fun to catch up with him and to see him. That night we taught the Mitre-Rojas. We are trying to get them to commit to baptism. They want to, but are having doubts.

Monday- No email... sorry. We had a sister's activity. We went to the mission home for breakfast (waffles :)) and then we went to the temple. It was really fun. It's fun to get together with all 20 sisters in our mission. The temple was super busy but it was good.

Well that was my week. Life is going pretty good .Transfers are in 3 weeks. I will probably be staying in Orem but who knows. The work is slowly starting to pick up. We found a couple people yesterday who are interested so we will see how that goes. I love being out here. It is not always easy, but is worth it. I am learning so much. I love each of you and am so grateful for you. You are the best! Keep working on coming unto Christ and helping others as well. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to do this. I love you!

Love, Kelcie

week 17

What a long week! This last week was not very productive. We taught 4 lessons! :( But on a much happier note we had one some great success. I am not going to go day by day this week because it would say tracting/contacting for everyday. But I will go over the highlights for the week. Monday we taught Alberto (his mom passed away in December). He is wanting to be baptized but it waiting for his family to accept it. Problem is that his family is in Mexico where there are no missionaries :(. We are hoping that MTC referral center can teach them online or over the phone. Wednesday we went to the temple as a district. Our entire district was there for a change. It was a good session. After the temple our district went out for breakfast. That night we ate dinner with the Adamson's. Thursday was our day of teaching. We taught Francisco and his wife. It was good. They both are more receptive but aren't acting. We are trying to figure out how to get them to come to church and help him realize that he has gotten his answer. He is looking for a sign. We also taught Monica. We went over the Living Christ with her and helped her prepare last minute things for her baptism tomorrow :) She told us that she read the entire Doctrine and Covenants in 2 weeks! She is so ready! That night we also taught Norma and David. We went over lesson 3 and helped them with last minute things for their wedding and baptism this last Saturday. Friday we we went and talked to some investigators that we have been teaching, who are struggling. They were looking for our help with some issues they are having. One of them told us that they are ready to get married so she can be baptized :) Yay! Now we just have to wait for proof of his divorce then we can do a wedding and baptism. They are hoping to get it done by this Saturday but we aren't holding our breath on that one since his ex is in Arizona and has no way of getting a hold of her. Saturday was a really good day. Saturday at 12:30 we had a wedding for Norma and David. Her nonmember family was there and it was short and sweet. The elders who started teaching them were there as well. During the ceremony the bishop's phone went off. It was hilarious. Why he didn't turn his ringer off or phone off i have no idea. But they are married. After the wedding they were both baptized. They had a lot of people there. It was really good. They are so happy and so glad that they did it. We saw them last night and they were asking us some questions tithing that they couldn't remember. It was so good. Now we are working on getting them to the temple and David receiving the Priesthood. Saturday afternoon we had a couple ward activities. One was our dinner :) They didn't send the sign up sheet around so we made the activity our dinner. It was good food. After we ate we went to the Stake Activity. They had a Chinese New Year party. It was really good. They had performances and explanations. It was really interesting.
.I took some pictures and videos. We also got a few referrals out of it :) Sunday we spoke in church about faith in missionary work. It was good. We were late to the meeting and I was the first speaker. But people told us we did a good job. That was my week. The end of the week was a lot better than the beginning. One day this week we had a dinner appointment with one of our bishops and started talking about Uncle Jack. Come to find out, Bishop Kidman met Uncle Jack. It was really fun to hear his story.

I am so glad that I am out here serving a mission and helping others come unto Christ. It is such a blessing for me and for those that I am teaching and helping. My testimony and love for our Savior and others is growing. There are wonderful people out there. I am excited to find others and continue to help them Come Unto Christ. I know that this is His gospel on the earth today. I am so grateful for it and for the love of our Savior. I am so grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am grateful that through Him we can be cleansed from ALL of our mistakes. I know that I am not perfect but through the Atonement I can become clean and work towards perfection. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that he received the power and authority to restore the gospel on the earth today. I am so grateful for him and for his example to us today of courage and faith. I am grateful that we still have a living prophet on the earth today. I know that Thomas S. Monson is called of God. I know that the Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon go hand in hand. I can see it everyday as I read from both books. I am so grateful to be out here. I am grateful for each of you and for all of you love and support. I pray and hope that each of you will continue to personally come unto Christ and help others as well. I know that He loves each of His children and wants the best for each of us. I love you!

Love, Hermana Dickson

Hola familia y amigos! Este semana fue muy interestante. (this week was very interesting). Okay it takes too long to write in Spanish so I am sticking with English. This week was a pretty good week. Our numbers would say otherwise. We had a lot of appointments cancel or just wouldn't be home. We also ran out of miles with 5 days left in the month so we walked a lot this week. I was just grateful no dogs attacked us. Just in case we had puppy spray (vinegar and water in a spray bottle- does the same thing as pepper spray). While we were walking one day we had 30 people honk at us and wave and about 3 people give us a ride but it was nice outside and we would have been really early to our appointment so we declined the ride.

Monday was P-day. For P-day last Monday we didn't do anything. We just stayed at home and relaxed. It felt good to just have a lazy day. That night we had FHE with a couple investigators. We met with Hernando and talked about Prophets. He had some questions for us so we talked about the what the Prophet does and how important it is for us to listen and follow the Prophet. We talked about the 14 Fundamentals of a prophet by Elder Benson I believe. It was mentioned in last general conference. For Norma and David we talked about each Article of Faith and then played a game with them. They had never played Uno so we taught them how to play. They are getting married this week and baptized next Monday :) Hopefully everything will continue to go as planned. For dinner this week we ate in English speaking homes. I can't really say American's because not all were.

Tuesday we went contacting out in Orem Stake. We met this old lady in her 90's who lost her husband in November and is now living with her daughter and son in law. All of her family is a member including her parents, siblings, and kids. She never joined because of her husband but now she is wanting to be baptized. We are starting to teach her tonight. Her name is Avis. She is adorable and excited to learn the gospel and become a member. I am excited to be teaching her. She is English speaking but wants sisters so we are teaching her. We also finally got to teach and investigator, Luis, who we have been trying to get a hold of for the last 5 weeks. He is my age and is always working so it's hard to get a hold of him. He is living with 2 in-actives. We also taught Norma and David today about the tree of life.

Wednesday we did a lot of tracting and were not very successful. We taught David, Norma was working. We taught about the Armor of God and dressed their 3 1/2 yo in the armor of God. He was very quick to take the helmet off but liked the rest. We also taught a new investigator, the Cano's. He kids attend young womens and scouts but she doesn't come to church. None are members. Her dad is a member but her and her husband are Catholic. Her family has a bunch of religions in them. She is very interested but won't commit to anything because of her husband so we are working with the ward on getting him involved with things.For dinner we ate at a Bolivian/American home and had really good empanadas.

Thursday we walked just about 10 miles. We taught Orbelin the law of Chastity and Monica about temples. She Monica was very interested and that night went to a Family History Class. She loved it! Monica is getting baptized February 15. For dinner we went to investigators home of familia Mitre-Rojas. Their oldest daughter was missing so we ended up helping them out. They found her at the school. I guess in the High Schools down here they have cards and have to use them for attendance in each class and to check in and out of school and she forgot to check back in after lunch. It all sounds fishy to me but they found her. That night we had 2 correlation meetings. It was really good. At one of them, the spanish one in Windsor, I got a blessing. One of the language missionaries, The Adamson's, told me I should get one so I did. It was much needed. I decided that I am going to get one at least once a transfer. I felt so much peace and got some guidance and help. It was good. No worries, nothing is wrong!

Friday was our planning day. We planned some activities for our wards to get excited and involved in missionary work. We also set goals for next month and planned for each of our investigators. That night we ended up teaching one lesson to Hernando, the others were not home or were "busy". Hernando we taught about the importance of baptism and confirmation. We also found out that he leaves in Feb 5. We are so sad to leave one of our favorite investigators. We hope that he continues to follow through and attend church in Colombia. For dinner we ate a Filipino/American home and had Filipino food.It was so good!

Saturday we had a church tour. Our entire district was in a church building covering each room. We were there for 2 hours and had 2 investigators show up. Both were from the sisters in our district :) One was mine and the other was the English sisters. That night we taught Norma and David. We also had dinner with Japanese/American family. It was really good food. One of my favorites. All of our appointments cancelled so we went tracting and were not very successful.

Sunday was good. We attended one ward and were busy all day. We taught Hernando and Alberto. We have been trying to see Alberto since I got here and finally got in last night. He is very shy and 23. His mother passed away not too long away and is waiting for his family to accept the gospel to get baptized. We are trying to tell him not to wait and that he will be a great example. It will be a long time before his family is converted. They live in Mexico and there are a lot of issues down there right now.

Anyway, this week was good even though we didn't teach a whole lot. Hermana Tetelpa and I are both staying in Orem for another 6 weeks. We are working on trying to find people like crazy. We found a bunch of old teaching records and progress records and are going to try to get new "old" investigators that way. I love this gospel. It is amazing! I am learning so much. I started reading in the Bible everyday as well as in the Spanish Book of Mormon. I am learning so much that is helping me and my investigators. This gospel is amazing and so true. I know Heavenly Father loves us. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that He died and suffered on the cross and in the Garden of Gethsemane for us. I am grateful for the gospel and that we can continue in faith and endure to the end to live with Heavenly Father again. I am grateful for each of you and for your love and support. You mean the world to me.

Love, Hermana Kelcie Dickson

Hola familia y amigos! Este semana fue muy interestante. (this week was very interesting). Okay it takes too long to write in Spanish so I am sticking with English. This week was a pretty good week. Our numbers would say otherwise. We had a lot of appointments cancel or just wouldn't be home. We also ran out of miles with 5 days left in the month so we walked a lot this week. I was just grateful no dogs attacked us. Just in case we had puppy spray (vinegar and water in a spray bottle- does the same thing as pepper spray). While we were walking one day we had 30 people honk at us and wave and about 3 people give us a ride but it was nice outside and we would have been really early to our appointment so we declined the ride.

Monday was P-day. For P-day last Monday we didn't do anything. We just stayed at home and relaxed. It felt good to just have a lazy day. That night we had FHE with a couple investigators. We met with Hernando and talked about Prophets. He had some questions for us so we talked about the what the Prophet does and how important it is for us to listen and follow the Prophet. We talked about the 14 Fundamentals of a prophet by Elder Benson I believe. It was mentioned in last general conference. For Norma and David we talked about each Article of Faith and then played a game with them. They had never played Uno so we taught them how to play. They are getting married this week and baptized next Monday :) Hopefully everything will continue to go as planned. For dinner this week we ate in English speaking homes. I can't really say American's because not all were.

Tuesday we went contacting out in Orem Stake. We met this old lady in her 90's who lost her husband in November and is now living with her daughter and son in law. All of her family is a member including her parents, siblings, and kids. She never joined because of her husband but now she is wanting to be baptized. We are starting to teach her tonight. Her name is Avis. She is adorable and excited to learn the gospel and become a member. I am excited to be teaching her. She is English speaking but wants sisters so we are teaching her. We also finally got to teach and investigator, Luis, who we have been trying to get a hold of for the last 5 weeks. He is my age and is always working so it's hard to get a hold of him. He is living with 2 in-actives. We also taught Norma and David today about the tree of life.

Wednesday we did a lot of tracting and were not very successful. We taught David, Norma was working. We taught about the Armor of God and dressed their 3 1/2 yo in the armor of God. He was very quick to take the helmet off but liked the rest. We also taught a new investigator, the Cano's. He kids attend young womens and scouts but she doesn't come to church. None are members. Her dad is a member but her and her husband are Catholic. Her family has a bunch of religions in them. She is very interested but won't commit to anything because of her husband so we are working with the ward on getting him involved with things.For dinner we ate at a Bolivian/American home and had really good empanadas.

Thursday we walked just about 10 miles. We taught Orbelin the law of Chastity and Monica about temples. She Monica was very interested and that night went to a Family History Class. She loved it! Monica is getting baptized February 15. For dinner we went to investigators home of familia Mitre-Rojas. Their oldest daughter was missing so we ended up helping them out. They found her at the school. I guess in the High Schools down here they have cards and have to use them for attendance in each class and to check in and out of school and she forgot to check back in after lunch. It all sounds fishy to me but they found her. That night we had 2 correlation meetings. It was really good. At one of them, the spanish one in Windsor, I got a blessing. One of the language missionaries, The Adamson's, told me I should get one so I did. It was much needed. I decided that I am going to get one at least once a transfer. I felt so much peace and got some guidance and help. It was good. No worries, nothing is wrong!

Friday was our planning day. We planned some activities for our wards to get excited and involved in missionary work. We also set goals for next month and planned for each of our investigators. That night we ended up teaching one lesson to Hernando, the others were not home or were "busy". Hernando we taught about the importance of baptism and confirmation. We also found out that he leaves in Feb 5. We are so sad to leave one of our favorite investigators. We hope that he continues to follow through and attend church in Colombia. For dinner we ate a Filipino/American home and had Filipino food.It was so good!

Saturday we had a church tour. Our entire district was in a church building covering each room. We were there for 2 hours and had 2 investigators show up. Both were from the sisters in our district :) One was mine and the other was the English sisters. That night we taught Norma and David. We also had dinner with Japanese/American family. It was really good food. One of my favorites. All of our appointments cancelled so we went tracting and were not very successful.

Sunday was good. We attended one ward and were busy all day. We taught Hernando and Alberto. We have been trying to see Alberto since I got here and finally got in last night. He is very shy and 23. His mother passed away not too long away and is waiting for his family to accept the gospel to get baptized. We are trying to tell him not to wait and that he will be a great example. It will be a long time before his family is converted. They live in Mexico and there are a lot of issues down there right now.

Anyway, this week was good even though we didn't teach a whole lot. Hermana Tetelpa and I are both staying in Orem for another 6 weeks. We are working on trying to find people like crazy. We found a bunch of old teaching records and progress records and are going to try to get new "old" investigators that way. I love this gospel. It is amazing! I am learning so much. I started reading in the Bible everyday as well as in the Spanish Book of Mormon. I am learning so much that is helping me and my investigators. This gospel is amazing and so true. I know Heavenly Father loves us. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that He died and suffered on the cross and in the Garden of Gethsemane for us. I am grateful for the gospel and that we can continue in faith and endure to the end to live with Heavenly Father again. I am grateful for each of you and for your love and support. You mean the world to me.

Love, Hermana Kelcie Dickson

Where do I start? This last week was kind of long but good. Better than last week. On Monday we had a Family Home Evening with our investigator Hernando. He is hilarious! I am going to miss him when he leaves in a couple of weeks. This week with Hernando we talked about the Law of Chastity. He has issues with a couple of things but is really trying to work things out. He wants to be baptized. Yesterday we were over teaching him and finished up with the Law of Chastity and talked about the Armor of God. We had a armor with everything for him to put on. I was surprised that he did it! He is a good sport about it. I got a picture and will attach it next week. I forgot my cord. Another investigator that we are teaching are Norma and David. Norma and David are getting married Feb 2 and getting baptized on Feb 7. They have 2 cute boys. Another investigator that we are teaching is Orbelin. Orbelin is ready for baptism except for he needs to get married or move out of the house of the girl he is living with. That is a very common theme with our investigators. He comes to church now. Yay! The other night we were eating dinner at a members home and they wanted us to teach their non member son. So we taught him but he left his weekend to go back to California. He comes back next month to live with his dad and hopefully we can keep teaching him. We also received a couple of investigators. I don't know how serious they are about being taught. I think at this stage they are just curious. I am hoping that they will eventually get baptized. A couple days ago we went to teach a girl named Britney. She wasn't home but we were able to talk to her mom. We talked to her for about an hour and a half and she wants us to come back and teach. She likes to talk a lot so it's hard to actually get a word in. She was talking about her daughter and how active she is in church activites, she won't let her get baptized though. She was trying to explain this thing that she went to once a month. She was like it sounds like chimpanzee.. she was referring to achievement days. We were all laughing when we figured out that is what she was talking about. She started crying from laughter.

As for everything else it's good. I love the work! We were out tracting this week and got a few referrals. It was good. Spanish is coming along. I am understanding more and more. The other night I was bearing my testimony and we had a member there who always goes with us he told me that my spanish is coming along really well and that I have a really strong testimony. It made me feel good and helped build my confidence. Anyway, I got to go but I am so glad I am out here serving a mission. It is amazing, even though it's difficult at times. It is worth it. On my calender this week that mom and dad sent this weekend it had a quote "i don't get it". Sometimes I don;'t get it. I don't get people but I do get the gospel. I know that the plan of salvation is for each of us and that as we seek to understand it we will receive the guidance from it. I am so grateful for the plan and the lessons I learn from it daily. I am grateful for our Savior. I know He is my friend and brother. I am grateful for the Atonement of our Savior and that through Him we can become perfect. I am grateful for my family and friends and that families are forever. I love this gospel and the chance that I have to be a missionary. I hope that we can all be missionaries in our behavior and get out and talk to our friends and neighbors and invite them to come unto Christ. I love you!

Love, Hermana Dickson

Subject: Week 13

This week has been a little bit different but good. Monday was a lazy p-day and was nice. We didn't have any zone or district activities going on so we stayed at home most of the day. Tuesday we had Zone Conference. Zone conference was amazing. I learned so much! One of the things that Sister Pitts talked about was Christlike Attributes of HIM. The H stood for Humility, I for Integrity, and M for meekness. It was really cool to see and make the connection. This week I was focused on studying these 3 attributes and learn how to become better at them. We also talked a lot about finding people. It was good because this week we did A LOT of tracting. We also had training on the importance of sacrament meeting and how to get investigators there. We talked about a few other things. Our theme scripture was 1 Ne 13:37. President talked about the scripture for like an hour. Who knew anyone could talk about and analyze a scripture in such depth for that long. It was so good. I have pages after pages of notes. I will share more when I get home :) Haha you will have to wait a little bit :)

So some interesting experiences with tracting this week:
1. Dogs! I have come to hate them even more, especially when they run up to you and almost bite you. I have decided to get pepper spray. I heard that vinegar and water work just the same. Hermana Tetelpa is not a fan of them either. Everyone here has them, especially hispanics. Most of the families homes we go into are good about putting their dogs in a different room or tie them up.
2. On one house we knocked on a person answered the door. We introduced ourselves and they told us that they used to be Mormon but aren't anymore. They went to Christianity because Mormon's don't believe in the Bible or Jesus Christ. I was laughing so hard in my head. I was curious to what Mormon church she went to. I still get laughs about it. I should have asked her more about where she went but Hna Tetelpa was ready to leave that house.
3. The next house we contacted we met a lady whose father used to be a CES member working for the church. She grew up Mormon but changed religions to a born-again Christian. Both people were quite adamant that they were not interested in the church.
4. I hate creepy things! I knocked on this door in the better part of Orem and the whole door shook. I jumped. It scared me. Hermana Tetelpa was like what happened. She didn't see the door move and stood at the top of the stairs. The other stair case was blocked and I was stuck down there if there was this creepy guy who opened the door. I was kind of glad that he didn't answer the door. If we do hear back from him or go contacting there again my companion is doing the knocking.

Our teaching pool is dwindling down to nothing. We have about 4 families that we are teaching that are not committing to baptism. One of them thinks we only need to go once a month, two of the families won't get divorced so that they can get married. They are living with others than they original spouse. And the last one wants to get baptized but is living with his girlfriend in Colombia. He goes back in a couple weeks. He wants to get married and get baptized together. We will see how that goes. He has changed so much. I was noticing this the other day when we were there. Another one of our investigators is going through a really hard time right now. We hope she keeps her baptism date despite all these hard times. Her son got deported to Argentina. He is involved with gangs and drugs and her father in law is really sick and his caretaker can no longer take care of him because her son has cancer. She might have to quit her job to take care of him but can't afford to quit. We told her to keep praying and trusting God. He will give her comfort and guidance. That is about it for the work. We don't have a whole lot going on. Next month we have 3 baptisms and a teaching pool of 3 people as of now. We are searching for more people.

This is a short letter but I don't have anything else that is new and exciting going on. Oh so funny story. Yesterday morning we were leaving for our first correlation meeting at 7am. We left about 6:50 and were walking down our stairs to the car. It had rained all night and the driveway looked wet. Wrong! It was ice. I was almost to the drivers door (I am driving now :)) and the next thing I know I am slipping. I have my lunch in my hand, my bag, my glasses, and a few other things. I couldn't grab hold of the car. It was covered in ice anyway. Next thing I know I am on the driveway and Hermana Tetelpa is asking if i am okay after she braces herself from falling. I am so sore now. I landed on my entire left side. I barely missed hitting the car and the fence. Oh man, it was hilarious even though I am in a lot of pain now.

Anyway, I hope that you are all doing well. It sounds like it! I know that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer. I know that through Him we are able to experience life and receive forgiveness. He loves us. A couple weeks ago I bought Another Testament of Jesus Christ DVD and we have been showing it to our investigators. It is so good. My testimony is strengthened every time we watch it. I know He lives! This week I challenge all of you who read this to read 3 Nefi 11 to the end of the book of Nefi. It is amazing. I know that the Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Christ and that through it we can become better disciples of Christ. Help the missionaries in your areas. Help them find people and help others feel welcome in the wards. Help yourself come to know Christ better. I love you all and are so grateful for you and for you examples. You are all the best!

Love,
Hermana Dickson

Week 11

Another week has come and gone. This week has been good. I hope you all enjoyed your week and had a wonderful New Years.

Monday night we met with 2 investigators (Juan and Orbelin). Juan has been taught by the missionaries for awhile. Monday night or the end of last week he finally accepted baptism. His baptism is for the this weekend. Supposedly he has commited to baptism 3 times before so we shall see. Our ward mission leader says it is different this time. Orbelin is progressing. His baptism is supposed to be this Saturday but has to be postponed. He didn't show up to church on Sunday :(.

Tuesday we met with a 9 year old, Giselle. She is super smart. She reminds me of Kaelyn in looks and all. Her and her mom are taking the discussions but her mom is never home so we just teach her. We also went to Yesenia's house and watched The Legacy with her before her baptism. We also taught Jorge about the law of chastity. It was quite entertaining. He is a funny kid. We also reviewed everything that we taught him to make sure he was ready for his interview.

Wednesday we went contacting in the morning and then met with Hernando. We taught him lesson one. He is so ready to be baptized. He always has a bunch of questions for us and understands and accepts everything we teach him. His brother is a member. He is visting him from Colombia for a month. During the day we ended up receiving a bad storm. We had hail, ice, snow, wind. It was no fun and we still have all the ice and cold from it. It hasn't warmed up past 25 for almost a week. Wednesday evening, despite the weather we had Yesenia's baptism. She had a lot of people show up. I am so excited for her. She is amazing. She got baptized on her 21st birthday. She was so excited and ready to be baptized. She wants her family to get baptized as well. Her mom is taking the discussions from the elder's in their area. We were only teaching her because she wanted sisters and we were the closest.

Thursday we went and watched the Joseph Smith movie with Hernando. He really enjoyed it. He has told us he has no reason to deny what we were are teaching him. He was very impressed with Joseph Smith. Afterwards we went and taught Monica. She is getting baptized Feb 15. We watched some of Witnesses of Christ with her and talked about Prophets. She is so sweet and you can tell she is excited about the gospel. We also went and taught Orbelin. We taught him about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Later that night we had a correlation and then taught Juan. We taught Juan about Obedience, Prayer, and Scripture Study. After the lesson the member we brought with us told me my Spanish was coming along. It doesn't feel like it so it was good to hear it from someone else.

Friday we had Jorge's baptism interview and then planned for the day. We had our DTM (district training meeting). There we talked about being bold and confident in our work. It was really good. Afterwards we finished planning and then met back up with our distrcit for the rest of the night (well until 9:30). We went out for dinner at a restaurant called One Man Band. It was pretty good. It is in Pleasant Grove. You order at the table over the phone. It is really run by one person. If you are in the area you should go. After dinner we went to a members home, the Adamson's, and played games and watched a movie. We had permission to watch an animated g rated movie. We watched How to Train Your Dragon. We got special permission to watch it since it is PG. It is a really cute movie. Afterwards we had permission to stay up until midnight but Hermana Tetelpa and I decided to get more sleep. We got to sleep in until 8:30. It felt so good to get some extra sleep.

Saturday we were to stay in our apartments until 5 and then go on like a normal proselyting day. It was kind of a boring day but I got letters written and almost finished reading the Book of Mormon. That night we met with Hernando and watched The Testaments with him. We also went and taught Yesenia. We read 3 Ne 11 and watched a slideshow of Another Testament (Mark Mabry photos of 3 Ne 11). It was really good. We had a RM there with us.

Sunday was a crazy day. We started our day out at 7 with correlation, 8:30 had another correlation, 9 went to Yesenia's ward for her confimation, 10, went to one of our three wards, 11 we went to another ward of ours,12- correlation, 1 back to church, 2 taught Orbelin,3 taugh Giselle, 4 correlation, 5 dinner, 6 taught a lady named Sandra and afterwards we went to familia Mitre-Rojas. It was a long day.

This last week was busy as you can see but it was really good. I had a lot of fun. I know that this week will be just as good. I am so grateful to be out here and to be helping others Come Unto Christ. I know there is no other place for me to be. I know that we can all help others come unto Christ. In the Book of Mormon in the book of mormon we are asked to do this. I know Heavenly Father will help us daily as we have faith and rely on Him. I know He loves us. I know He knows each of us personally. He is our Savior and Redeemer. I am so grateful for Him and the gospel in my life. I hope that we can all find the joy and peace the gospel brings to us and that we will not be ashamed or afraid to share it with others. I love you all and am so grateful for you and for your examples. You are the best!

Love,
Hermana Dickson