Happy Dragon Boat Festival!
We had a district P-day last week. We played ping pong and badminton, and we just may have broken out Jungle Speed.
P-day with Elder Alexander the week before last
District P-day this past week in Zhuwei
Jungle Speed
Badmitton
Ping Pong
Lunch
We
met with Fang DX this past week. He's been progressing so very well. We talked about how it's difficult to give up certain things in your life as you come to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's amazing to
see the Lord at work. By the end of the lesson he was willing to try. I
know he can do it. I have faith in him and he and I both have faith in
the Lord and in the enabling power of His Atonement. He and none of us
need face trials on our own.
There's an incredible training we watched on Thursday of this past week about Joseph Smith, the first prophet of this dispensation of time. The video is called Thou Art Joseph
I highly recommend it; I learned a lot, and I received revelation and
inspiration for my present circumstances and future.
Interviews with my mission president,
President Jergensen, were uplifting and inspiring as usual. I love every
opportunity I have to talk with him. The love and trust he has for us as
missionaries is nothing short of remarkable. It's a great privilege to
serve with him. I particularly appreciated one piece of advice he gave
me in relation to the study of the scriptures. He was recently in a
meeting where a General Authority said something along the lines of "it
doesn't matter so much how much we read on any given day, but much more
so how long." It's not a competition to see how many times you can read
through the scriptures in a set period of
time; you can have a very effective and faith-promoting study as you
focus your entire study on a handful of verses.
We're
working well with the ward here. Things are getting better and better;
we met with the devoted bishop this past week and were received warmly.
I got a postcard from Kailin ( a member from MiaoLi who left on a mission for New Zealand while I was serving there.
We
revolutionized our finding/teaching this past week by simply being
cheerful and listening better...then responding to needs and concerns as
they are expressed. Bellowing out booming "HELLO!"s and flashing goofy
grins...literally everyone is willing to stop and talk for at least a
moment and are left feeling better than they had prior to our talking
with them (whether they have interest in our message or not). It's
FUN!..and successful. We love to lift the spirits of those around us!
Taiwan is such a
wonderful place with such wonderful people. Elder Alexander's bike box
fell off the other day. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and one boy
literally dropped what he was holding and sprinted into a sliding stop
(as if he was sliding into home with great urgency and purpose). He then
proceeded to pick up all of Elder Alexander's belongings and asked if
he could do anything else to be of service. Truly amazing. It's no
wonder it's sometimes difficult to find service opportunities in Taiwan;
as soon as an issue comes up, everyone sprints to the rescue in unison
(this isn't the first time I've seen this kind of thing in Taiwan).
Meal with members to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival
We
met with a wonderful new investigator this past week who is originally
from mainland China. He's a meta-physicist and quite brilliant and also
quite hilarious. He says that he already feels the love of God in his
life. However, he was a little stumped on the logistics of training and releasing a dove at baptismal services...he was a little confused about
the account of Jesus being baptized and the Holy Ghost descending in the
form of a dove and thought that was something we did to this day. I
like working with him. He's Great!
I was elated to hear
from Elder Raley this past week. He called me to ask if I would be
interested in attending a baptismal service of an investigator we had
found and started teaching together. I told him I probably wouldn't be
able to go all the way down to Miaoli but to tell them congratulations
for me. He seemed a little down; he then brought up another investigator
who was getting baptized and asked if I could attend that one. I gave
him a similar answer, and he just kept them coming...it appears as
though they're baptizing all of Miaoli down there...I'm glad he's seeing
so much success and that so many are willing to follow the Savior.
Miaoli is a blessed place!
(HAPPY BIRTHDAY CA$H!)
Food and Elder Alexander (sometimes he gets pretty excited at meal times!)
We're
seeing many a miracle here in Beitou, and Elder Alexander and I are
loving the work. We're grateful for the many blessings we've received
and are excited for another great week!
Beitou
The
Savior lives. He knows you. He understands your current situation and
has the power to aid you now. He loves you both perfectly and
unconditionally.
I love you all! Thank you for all your prayers and support!
All is well,
Elder Dickson
awesome work elder dickson
ReplyDelete