Happy Easter!! I'm sorry the update from last week was so short; I'll endeavor to do better this week:
Last
P-day was good. We got some much needed cleaning done, and we went to
the beach with the majority of the zone to play soccer and volleyball.
That evening, we ran Family Home Evening with the YSA. We introduced
them to Jungle Speed (a board game), and they loved it. We then had an
investigator do the spiritual share. She did a
wonderful job.
One of our investigators doesn't like hamburgers...so we made a prayer chocolate toast sandwich (his favorite food).
Funny
Chinese story for the week. Apparently, I've been telling most everyone
I meet that their pockets are either handsome or fashionable. I thought
I was complimenting their surgical masks...you learn something new
every day :)
Elder Raley and I
We set some crazy high goals this
week, but we felt we had good plans to realize them and had set them
prayerfully. We evaluated and reworked our plans throughout the week as
things didn't go quite according to plan. In the end, we met all our
goals. I'm grateful for the great blessing that was this week. There is
power in goal-setting .
Great talk from M. Russell Ballard during General Conference
It
rained a lot this week...a lot. We may have also failed to wear any
sort of rain gear. This is our fault, but in our defense it was always
sunny when we left the house ;P Besides, I think our saturated condition
made people more willing to talk with us because they felt bad for us.
It was particularly great after English class. Elder Raley had a flat,
so we walked(swam) home. Forty minutes later...we
made it. It was almost comical just how pitiful we must have appeared,
but it wasn't so bad; we sang songs and prayed all the way home. We are
oftentimes unable to control our circumstances, but we can determine
what our response will be. All in all, it was a good time.
We
went on exchanges with the zone leaders up in Zhunan this past week. I
went with Elder Falck and Elder Raley went with Elder Butler.
Elder Raley and Elder Dickson sharing the gospel
Dinner on exchange with the zone leaders
I even had
the privilege of using Elder Crawford's old bike (my previous zone
leader and a legend who has already returned home). We didn't have a lot
of plans going into the exchange. The plan was pretty much to find,
find, and find some more all through the rainy night. It was wonderful.
It truly felt like we were about the Father's business as we scattered
sunshine everywhere we went. Elder Raley and Elder Butler met with a new
investigator who was super prepared. He pulled up on his bike, and
Elder Raley recognized him! We had met him on the train the week before
and referred him to the zone leaders! The next day, as we were studying
in a McDonald's we were approached by a man who introduced himself as
Jimmy Lai. As it turned out, he and his class of high school students
were visiting from Miaoli. We were able to invite them all to English
class and also get his information to share with him another time. The
very next night we ran into him and his family on the street in Miaoli.
It's crazy how often these mini miracles take place. Finally, we boarded
the train to head back to Miaoli. We saw a guy on the other end of the
car that we wanted to talk to and decided to go sit by him. We were
thinking about how to strike up a conversation when he said "Dickson!"
He's our former investigator, Allen, who now lives in Taizhong! We were
able to have a good conversation with him, and he said we could give his
number to the missionaries down in Taizhong. When you are on the Lord's
errand, there are no coincidences.
Easter Musical Fireside
Easter
Sunday!
We showed up to church, and I was informed that one of the speakers
wouldn't be able to attend. I was then invited to speak(and of course in
Chinese). It didn't help that I was already a bit stressed upon
arriving at chapel. I had come hoping to be able to rest and feel the
peace that can be felt at church as I partake of the sacrament and
listen to the speakers. I prayed for comfort and for the Spirit to
accompany my words so that I might be able to say what those in
attendance needed to hear that day. I was immediately comforted. My
stress was lifted off of me, and I was blessed to be able to give what I
felt like was one of my better talks (in which I was able to learn from
the things I felt inspired to share). Much of the ward later came up and
thanked me for what I shared and said it was exactly what they needed
to hear. Have you ever felt stressed? Turn to Him. Turn to the Prince of
Peace.
The Prince of Peace
All is well,
Elder Dickson
