Week one in Xizhi (an area of New Taipei City)

My dear friends in Taoyuan!

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes, the package, and the great food!

Trust in God includes having faith in His will and timing.

The work is going great in 桃園Taoyuan. We had a powerful, spirit-filled lesson on Wednesday there with an awesome investigator. He's 50 and retired, and yet he loves playing ultimate Frisbee with us crazy missionaries at 6AM. We shared the Plan of Salvation: God's plan for us which answers the questions "Where did we come from?", "What is the purpose of life?", and "Where are we going?" At the end of the lesson he had two questions. "What do I need to do now as a result of understanding these things?" and "What if I can't do it?" In both cases, we need only look to the Savior for He is the perfect example, and because He walked such a long and lonely road, we don't have to. At the same time, we had investigators explaining to us the meaning of the condescension of God in the scriptures after reading through it only once. The Lord is hastening His work in Taoyuan.

Good-bye to Taoyuan:

Plot twist. I no longer live in Taoyuan. On Thursday morning I boarded a train bound for Xizhi汐止, an older city on the outskirts of Taipei. It's been comical to me just how much it rains here. I have yet to see the sun and it's pretty chilly, but there's much to be excited about. My new companion, Elder Steffen, is absolutely incredible! In many ways he reminds me of Hyrum. He's brilliant (speaks Spanish, Chinese, Russian, English, and who knows what else), ingenuitive, and he has an appreciation for peanut butter. He just finished training, and so I'm "breaking" him.

It's been a blessing to see the Lord's hand at work in Xizhi over the past few days. I'll share one example (though there be many). I received a message from a member in Taoyuan on my first morning in my new area. She said she had a friend in Xizhi who would be willing to meet with missionaries and asked if she might come up and be our member present for a lesson with him later that day. Of course we can do that! He's a man if a man ever was. He made it all the way to the Temple grounds for stake conference yesterday despite being confined to an automated chair. We're excited to keep working with him and to help him come to know his Savior, Jesus Christ. I know I'm supposed to be in Xizhi at this time. President told me he had no intention of moving me, but he felt impressed that Elder Steffen and I needed to be companions at this time. I'm grateful for it.

I've learned a lot lately about just how important it is to be kind. Everyone is fighting their own battles, so please, please, please be kind to everyone you meet. When you feel you're fighting a losing battle, fight for another, and you'll find the strength to press on in your own personal struggles.

All is well! Thank you for the love and support!

Elder Dickson

For more on the Plan of Salvation see this video Our Eternal Life