Busy wonderful week :)

What a busy week we've had here in Morong!!  We found 9 new investigators this week as well as taught 30 lessons... It was awesome!!  Kim's baptism went really, really well.  It started an hour and a half late, because the Branch President was in a town about an hour away but he eventually made it there and we were able to start.  Kim looked so beautiful and I think it was the first time I've ever seen anyone start hitting the person who was baptizing them right after they came out in the water.  Apparently she forgot to plug her nose or something and so water got up it and then she took out her anger on Paul, the branch missionary who baptized her... it was all quite funny, and definitely something she'll never forget nor will we.  Her confirmation was beautiful as well.

Just thought I'd share a story or two with you all from this week...  So last Tuesday, we taught one of the less-actives members in our area, and her husband who is one of our investigators.  She had just been released from the hospital and had measles so we asked her if she would like a priesthood blessing.  She said yes and her husband was very enthusiastic about the blessing.  So we scheduled to come over the next morning and then later that day, contacted the branch leaders to find out who would be available to give the blessing.  However, things didn't end up working out for that person to be there to give the blessing.  Just a few hours before it was time for the blessing,  I felt prompted to go and ask this one member that we'd just visited on Monday to see if he would be willing.  He was the E.Q. president not too long ago.  So we showed up at his house, asked, and he said he was more than willing too.  An hour later we went with him to her house where he gave her the blessing and her husband was also present.  It was just awesome to watch this previous E.Q. president feel "needed" again. :)

We are really working on getting the recent converts and less-active members more involved in the missionary work in our area.  My testimony has a grown a lot about that statement President Hinckley made when he said that one of the three things every convert needs is a calling/responsibility.  I think it's something every member needs... everyone's help/talents/abilities really are needed for building up the Lord's kingdom here on earth as well as preparing for the Second Coming.

We also had a really wonderful lesson with one of the less-active families that we've been visiting every week since I got into this area.  We went to their small house where there was this huge tree missing from the front.  This was the first time we were able to visit them since the typhoon hit.  They said the tree had fallen on their house (fortunately no one was there) and destroyed most of it.  We just sat there and Sister Fewster started to cry.  We were so grateful that all of them were okay and we just bore testimony about how much God loves them.  Yesterday, we were happily surprised when we walked into the chapel to see their whole family sitting on a bench, bright and early.  :) :)  Ahhh.... miracles :)

Well... that's all for this week. :)  Hope everyone is doing well and enjoys this week as we head into August... (ahh!!!!  The time is going by too fast!!) :)

Love you all!!!

Love, Sister Dickison

Typhoons, Stomach Flu, and No Electricity! Oh My! :)

Yup, just a regular week here.  :)  Phew.... Man, where do I even start?  So last week after emailing, our work was cancelled for that evening because the typhoon was due to hit later so we just made all the necessary preparations and then headed home.  That night the rain started a little and then all of the sudden the wind came outta nowhere.  When we woke up, we didn't have electricity or water and the wind was blowing like crazy/it was raining like crazy.  There were trees that fell and power lines broken, etc.  but we were all safe.  That Wednesday was supposed to be our transfer day but transfers got cancelled...for obvious reasons. :)  We just stayed inside all day and kept safe/tried to keep ourselves busy with no water or electricity.  Fortunately we had saved up quite a bit of water.  That night was pretty fun... we had bonding time as kabahays for the last time, since Sister McCarthy was getting transferred the next day.  The next day she went to Pateros, to my first area, and we got two new sisters in the house.  Sister Taufa, who was in my zone in Pasig and trained Sister Umstead, and Sister Faka'osi, who was in my zone when I was in Taguig zone.  They're in a threesome with Sister Delasan.

So that day of transfers I got the stomach flu which wasn't fun... mostly because we were running short on water, still didn't have electricity, and it meant another day at home instead of working.  The power/water finally came back that night and my sickness went away.  We were able to go back to work again on Friday.

All of the people we've talked to so far were safe despite the typhoon.  There is one family of members who lives not too far away from us who are now sleeping/living in the church because their house got destroyed.  :(  We're all just glad everyone is safe.

Oh yeah... and Kim wasn't able to get off work for her baptism so it was rescheduled for this Saturday.

Despite all of that, we still had a great week. :)  Several less-actives came to church yesterday and there are several other members who are officially active again! Yea!  So happy for them!!  Also, a few awesome investigators came to church again.  We're still finding new investigators everyday and seriously.... so, so blessed to be here in this area.  Sister Fewster and I just reflected back on this last transfer and both agreed that this has been the best one for both of us... not because it's been easy, but because of how much we've both grown.  We're so ready and excited for "round 2" :)  

Guys.... the gospel is true.  We are so blessed to know the truth.  We are so blessed to live in a time when we have the fullness of the gospel here on the earth... a living prophet, revelation, the priesthood, everything.  We are too blessed to not share those blessings with others.  There are so many people who are searching for the truth.  I promise you they are out there, all around us.  We, as members, made a promise when we were baptized that we would stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places.  I invite you all to open your mouths and share those blessings you've been given with those around you, both people you already know and those you haven't met yet.  There is know need to fear because the success is in the invitation.  :)  Love you all!!!  Go do some missionary work!!!! :)

Love, Sister Dickison

Can I stay here? :)

Hello everyone!!

The work here continues to grow every day and honestly... it has just been amazing to me!! :)  We stopped using the directory a few weeks ago as a finding tool.... we found about as many less-active members as we can currently handle with our schedules.  It's been cool to watch many of them  start coming back to church.  Sister Imelda came to church two weeks ago, then missed last week, then came again yesterday, all by herself, AND bore her testimony.  We're so proud of her!  We went and taught another less-active member for the first time last week.  His wife just returned from living away in a different province for like 6 years... we're still not sure why... along with their 17 year old daughter.  Both the mother and daughter are Catholic, but they enjoyed our lesson with them, asked if they could attend church (love it when people ask that!!), and the daughter even talked about serving a mission like us some day. :)  We committed them to come to church and I was pretty disappointed that none of them came yesterday... but we'll keep working with them :)  We had Family Home Evening with another less-active member last Friday.  His wife and kids are active... so we're not exactly sure why he just doesn't come.  The FHE was awesome though!  We brought a rope and some little oranges and acted out Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life.  It was so much fun!!  It was the cutest thing to watch the dad, playing the part of Lehi, inviting his family to come partake of the fruit.  Then, at the end, they all just wanted to try walking with their hands on the rope with their eyes closed. 

We also had an awesome week with our investigators!!  It started off kind of rough.... we went to go have Family Home Evening with a family last week.  We had all of their fellowshippers with us, and when we got there, none of the kids were there and he was very drunk with one of his buddies.  He, however, was not drunk enough to not feel guilty.... actually he felt really, really bad.  In fact, when we returned on Wednesday, he said he was so grateful we came because he was afraid that we would never want to come back again.  We reassured him that we still love him (of course!) and then later on in the lesson committed him and his kids to a baptismal date in August.  They didn't come to church yesterday,  but we have a lot of hope for them.

There is this one man who just showed up to church two weeks ago.  We weren't able to meet with him until last Saturday, but it was worth the wait.  He's 26 years old and, as he puts it, "still seeking for the truth."  He started doing lessons with the missionaries in his hometown but then moved out here for work and showed up at church. :)  His coworker, joined in our lesson and then they both went to church yesterday :)  They're super interested!!  We're really excited for another lesson with them this Saturday.  We were able to teach this one family we found again.  We had an awesome lesson with them about prophets and Christ's life and then as we left, their little boys and their kid's friends, who joined us for the lesson, started clapping before we left :)  So cute!!!  We were pretty far away from their house when one of the little boys ran out of the house and started clapping some more :) 

Lastly, we went yesterday afternoon to try to contact this women we had talked to a few weeks ago.  She ended up not being there but her neighbor came up and started talking to us in English.  He said he was interested in learning how to speak English. :)  We kept on talking to him and asked him if we could share with him, the first two times he said no, but as we continued talking to him about the gospel and answering his many questions he finally invited us into his house and we ended up have a kind of lengthy/really good lesson  with him.... with basically me being the only person speaking in Tagalog... :)  (I just can't teach all that well in English!! :))  Basically everything he said had something to do with some aspect of the gospel and it was such an incredible lesson!!  We're so excited to teach him again next week!  And we knew there was a reason we kept on being drawn to that area :) 

So yeah... life is great and I so do not want to be transferred out of this area next week!  Hopefully President will receive revelation that I should stay here for another transfer :)  Oh yeah!!  We had our zone interviews last Tuesday and.... It's official.  I got the "okay" from President to come home a few weeks early so I'll be back for school (Winter semester).  

Love you all!!  Hope you have a wonderful week!!

Love, Sister Dickison