With wonderful friends at the temple!
We started off the week well by taking Elder Chang to Costco for
the 1st time in his life. Hot-dogs, free samples, muffins and milk...he
was in heaven :)
Treat that is unique to Costco here
Loving his first time at Costco
Wow! Dairy products sure aren't cheap here in Taiwan! ;P
"Bad things happen to good
missionaries." ~President Jergensen (quote wasn't directed to me, but I
heard it in a meeting and thought it was funny)
Letter from Emilie: love you Emmy! (I love getting mail!)
I was sick with a pretty nasty
cold most of the week; I've also had some unpleasant back problems, but
as we pressed forward and we were blessed in miraculous ways:
Benjamin:
He's new! We're extremely grateful to the sisters for finding him. He's
such a happy guy. He always smiles, and he loves the gospel and holds
that which we've shared with him to date very near his heart. He hopes
to be baptized next month, and he is well on track to hit his goal. He
especially loves the Plan of Salvation and understands it well.
Brother
Fang: He's doing better! His surgeries are over. The first one went
better than the second, but he is in the process of healing and doing
well. He's still struggling with some things but I know he can overcome his
presents concerns as he continues to be the amazing man he is. He's made
progress in leaps and bounds and is still putting forth an admirable
effort to meet the Lord's expectations for him. We shared about temples
and family history work this past week, and he was thrilled!
Brother
Hong: He's also new! He also just happens to be the result of a
miracle. Elder Chang stayed back in Beitou with Elder Hyde as his
temporary companion while I attended the meeting on Thursday. During the
day, our 7:30 P.M.
appointment cancelled. Elder Hyde happened to sit down next to this man
while my companion sent off a referral for another set of missionaries.
They started talking, and Elder Hyde learned that he places a great
emphasis on his family, that they're important to him. Elder Hyde asked
if there was a time we might meet. His response: "I have time at 7:30 P.M. tonight. Would that work for you?" We did go and see him at 7:30
that evening. He lives in a modern-day castle, but he's just about the
most humble guy I've ever met. He's struggling with some great trials in
his life, but we are thrilled to be able to help him find peace and joy
through the Savior and His teachings. He absolutely loved prayer.
English
class went remarkably well: it was fun for all, all learned a great
deal (myself included), and the Spirit was present and powerful during my spiritual share on the Plan of Salvation to the point that
much of the class needed extra encouragement to get them out of the
building after class. It was also a tender mercy to hear one of the
students refer to us missionaries as angels sent from heaven to teach
them in her prayer.
1 Nephi and 2 Nephi in cartoon drawings
Special meal
I've been making a lot of
trips down to the heart of Taipei lately. I went down on Thursday for
the district leader training meeting and then again on Saturday to go to
the temple with Kenneth. Both trips were wonderful. It was pretty cool
to meet up with Elder Lawrence, Elder Robbins, Elder Alexander and other
friends on Thursday. I learned a great deal, and I am excited to
continue to implement those things I learned here in Beitou. Even
better, it happened to be my year mark on the mission. It was cool to
hear President's thoughts about the role of a district leader. He said
it's much like a bishop in the church in his mind. They work directly
with the members, and are the primary and most accessible source of help
and direction. I loved spending some time with my good friend Kenneth
on Saturday. Afterwards, who was at the temple grounds? Elder Johnson!
Oh, how good it was to see the man. He's doing great things down in
Taidong. Elder Chang's whole ward also happened to be at the temple, so
that was exciting...we also had a fun ward activity that night.
Celebrating Kenneth's birthday
Lesson
of the week: Don't wear a long sleeve white shirt when it's the middle
of summer in Taiwan and if you intend to be out all day in the heat riding a
bike.
It was a warm week...some of my ties formed little streams...
Some new friends
funny dog
Fun fact: I dream every night. I have
ever since I started the mission. What's new? All my dreams of late are
of me out doing missionary work...tiring, but cool in a way.
Church:
the MEGA miracle of the week. Elder Chang and I spoke in sacrament
meeting. I was pretty nervous beforehand, but I had done a ton of
preparation and was comforted as I prayed. The Spirit was with me as I
spoke, and I may have ended up speaking for a good 30
minutes...yeah...but the members at least seemed to really like it and I
believe it helped all in attendance come unto Christ. We both spoke on
the topic of "Foundations of Faith." Beitou has historically been a
particularly challenging area when it comes to getting people to church.
Elder Chang and I noticed this and prayerfully set a goal to get 4
investigators to sacrament meeting. We made extensive plans and went to
work. We were blessed yesterday to have 7 investigators attend sacrament
meeting with all but one of the 7 staying for the full 3 hours. What's
more? They all loved it, and will likely make a habit of attending.
Among the 7 were the three listed above, the family of Brother Hong, and
one other. On a side note, I got to be a translator again for some
visiting foreigners and ward council went well. We presented a new ward
mission plan we're excited about, and it was received well.
Our new investigator lives in a modern-day palace
Last
night was cool too. We had made plans that morning to make some calls
in a park we never go to. The moment we sat down, a potential we've run
into a few times came up and sat with us. We taught him a lesson, and he
set-up for a next time to meet with him just like that. Feeling
blessed.
Ether 12:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them..
Recently,
I've been shocked by the analysis my companions and others have done of
me. They kindly point out to me that I'm very committed and
hard-working, but then...they tell me things like "you're the most
patient person I've ever known." Now, I know they're just being nice,
but they don't need to make up totally crazy things to do so. I always
thought of lack of patience (trust in the Lord's timing) to be one of my
greatest shortcomings. I do not claim by any means to be "the most
patient person" anyone has ever known, but if patience really has come
to be among my strengths...we all ought to look a little more closely at
the scripture noted above. The Lord can do great things when we choose
to work with Him. He can work miracles even.
I
love you all! Thank you for your support and prayers! I pray for you
too! God loves you too! Turn to Him in your time of need. He is always
there.
All is well,
Elder Dickson
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