Just because it was hard doesn't mean that it was bad

well, i am not going to lie.. this week has been one of the hardest weeks of my mission. Actually I take that back, probably one of the hardest weeks of my life.

But just because it was hard doesn't mean that it was bad. 

To start off with I got to go on an exchange with my Sister Training Leader named Sister Danner. She is pretty cool. She goes home in 3 weeks so it was cool getting to learn a lot from her. She had a lot of really good advice that really helped me try to be a better missionary. The area I went to is the Portsmouth area which is BEAUTIFUL! We went tracting in Durham which is where University of New Hampshire is. It is the cutest little college town that I have ever seen. 

I'm sorry I am lame and didn't take pictures.. please don't hate me. I just forget sometimes! But it was really cool. 

On Wednesday we had interviews with the President which was really good. I really am lucky to have such great mission parents. 

GOOD NEWS! We got a new investigator this week! His wife is a recent convert and he is so prepared! We will hopefully get a baptism date for him this week! 

So SCARY STORY! Last Monday night Sister Maxwell and I were in South Berwick trying to contact a less active member. So it is like 7 o'clock and like pitch dark and the GPS takes us down this dirt road down the middle of the woods. Which didn't concern me at first, because a lot of houses here have really long driveways through the woods up to their house. But it was pretty creepy when we pulled up to the house and I felt like I was the stupid girl in horrors movies that still goes up to the creepy house even though everyone in the audience was screaming at her to DON'T GO IN! But, we are missionaries and we must bring these souls to salvation, so we made our way up to the house (aka our ultimate uncertain death). The house was dark except for a light on in the kitchen so we knocked and out of no where these two HUGE dogs (and when I say huge I am not exaggerating, they were practically moose) came running up and howling at us. I felt like all they saw was to big slabs of meat and they were ready to take a chop right into my head. 

So Sister Maxwell and I do what any rational young adults would do and we ran like the wind! Now, most of you know me and know that I am not a runner. If you see me running you better start running too because either something very disastrous is behind me or either something yummy and delicious is in front of me. But man, I don't think I have ever ran so fast before in my life.

So as missionary, we have this rule where one missionary has to stand out and back out the car to avoid wrecks and all that fun stuff. So to make matters worse I am standing out trying to back Sister Maxwell out while these two bears were barking at me in the middle of the woods, in the dark, in the middle of no where. 

Since I am writing this email you can assume that I didn't die. But I sure was convinced that I was going to. 

We found out later that wasn't even the less actives house anyways. #storyofourlives

Other than that we have been doing a lot of tracting and a lot of knocking and a lot of cookie making. We made like seven thousand cookies trying to give them to less actives so they would love us and let us come to church. It didn't work but we tried! 

So you maybe wondering why this week was such a hard week. Well being a missionary is hard in every form, physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.. I don't know if I will ever be able to describe how hard it is because you just won't be able to understand until you've done it for yourself. So while I was sitting in my apartment after a long day of work work work I felt discouraged. I felt like I wasn't doing any good and that there wasn't really a point for me being here. That's when I remembered a quote I heard from Jeffrey R. Holland pop into my head which says, "Don’t give up. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”

So here I am, still on my mission. Not giving up and trusting in God that there really are good things to come.

And there is. For you and for me. So I would like to echo Elder Holland's words as well. Don't you give up! there is always happiness and help and comfort and love and grace and mercy ahead. You can do it! Whatever it is!

I love you all and I hope you have a great week! 

Love, Sister Dickson

Walk eat work potty sleep (maybe) work 💗

This week we just worked our little toushies off.


First of all its starting to get very cold. No we didn't get any snow in my area but it has been cold. The weather has been mean this week. It keeps trying to trick me into thinking it's nice and warm and sunny out, but once I step out its like BAM a wall of cold and misery hits me. Sister Maxwell keeps telling me to just wait because it's gonna be so much worse. 😭😱😰


So the goal for our mission in 2015 is to rescue 1000 people. And I order for that to be possible that mean we need to rescue 67 people in our zone y the end of the transfer. Which means our area needs to get 11 people. Rescues are either baptisms or reactivating a less active member. So we have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to find people who are prepared to hear the Word. 👊🏻


We got a new investigator this week which is awesome! She is so normal and nice it's awesome! And we are going to be working with 4 less actives so this is a totally realistic goal that I know we can make with the Lords help of course.


This week was the Exeter Stake Conference (which is the stake I am in right now in case any were confused) and man oh man was it FABULOUS! We got to go to the adult session on Saturday night where Kim B. Clark of the Seventy came and talked to us about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Then on Sunday he talked to us again about how forgiving and letting go of anger will bring us closer to God and make us happier.


I would like to focus a little in what he said on Saturday night. He read the parable of the use man who built his house upon the rock. The rock is Christ, the Foundation is our covenants, and the house is our daily lives. We talked about how we have to maintain our foundation so our house will stay strong and tall and so we won't fall off of the rock of Christ. We talked on how keeping the Sabbath Day holy and partaking of the sacrament are some ways we can maintain our foundation.


Besides the obvious pray and read your scriptures, what are some other ways you can maintain your foundation? Get down on your knees and ask your Heavenly Father with true intent to do those things He wants you to and He will tell you. One thing I have been trying to do to maintain my foundation is to pray and ask if the things I have studied and taught are true at the end of each day. Not because I don't know that they are true, because they are, but to help rekindle and reassure that I am doing what He wants me to do. I can feel myself growing closer to him and it's awesome!


So there is my invitation to you this week. Ask God what it is that you need to do right now to maintain and/or repair your foundation.


He will answer you because He loves you!


I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way to have stronger and lasting happiness in this life and complete joy in the next. Embrace it, learn it, live it, and love it. It's so true you guys. Put the gospel to the test, I promise you will come out with a passing grade A+++


Things are going well here. Winter is a brewing and man I love hot chocolate. I am safe and happy and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now.


I love you all soooo much!
Have a great week 😘


Love, Sister Dickson 

Small and simple

Well, it's the day you've all been waiting for. My new companions name is Sister Maxwell and she is from Southern Utah and has been out for about a year. She's a little tiny thing and I could kill her just by sitting on her. She's very sweet and I love her much! 

Some exciting things that happened was that on Saturday we got to help out at the Somersworth pumpkin festival. We helped at the scare crow booth. It was really fun. I know I am lame and didn't take any pictures.. I'm sorry:( we were just so busy the whole entire day! The festival was really cool. It was a family centered festival and they would pay for this wristband to do all of the activities together as a family. There was cookie decorating, make a scarecrow, pumpkin painting and pumpkin carving, a pumpkin smashing booth, mini golf, and a costume judging place. They had really yummy food and a live band playing. It was way fun!

This week was a whole lot of finding and a whole lot of tracting. No new investigators yet, but no worries we will keep bugging everyone until they listen! 

The leaves here are wonderful! I am really enjoying the fall weather! It's perfecto! Our Ward is doing a service project all together. The service is making hats and scarves for local homeless shelters and safe houses. So an amazing lady in my ward who I am very close to taught me how to knit this week. So I am knitting a hat. Haha I really really really hope it turns out. Pray for me guys! I need the prayers! Haha 

I'm really sorry I really wish I had more exciting this to say. Trust me, I REALLY could us some excitement all up in here. But God apparently thinks that that's not a good idea right now. Sooo I guess I will just move right in with the spiritual thought. 

So every Sunday night we have a Book of Mormon study class with some members and I really enjoy it. I find myself understanding things in the Book of Mormon that I have never even realized before. Like in 2 Nephi 5:4 it says the the Lord warned Nephi. Same thing goes for us. We will always be warned of danger. But it is up to us to decide whether or not we can hear that warning. It got me thinking of some ways we can be more in tune with the Holy Ghost. We can study the scriptures, pray, go to church, be kind and all of those other primary answers that we are so used to hearing. Yes, those things are very simple and they have been repeated to us time and time again. But oh my goodness they are so important. I love the quote, "small efforts sustained over time can produce significant results." By Devin G. Durrant

So I would like to challenge all of you this week to pray to Heavenly Father and ask Him what you need to do to be better and then put those small and simple things into action! The Holy Ghost will be able to give you personal guidance on how you can become your very best self. 

I promise you that if you do that you will be able to see Gods hand in your life more. I know this is true because it is currently happening to me right now.

I guess it's good my letter is short and simple because it goes well with my letter! I totally planned that. 

God is real.

There is no way He's not real because too many miracles happen everyday. 

Look for those miracles

And remember that He loves you.

And so do I

Even though His love is better.

Have a great week and be safe my lovely cupcakes 😘

Love, Sister Dickson

Ps here is a pic of Sister Maxwell and me

Come what may and love it

Hello loved ones!

This week has been a hard week but not a bad week.

We went apple picking on Tuesday for a sweet lady in the Ward, which was very fun except I got scratches all over. #battlewounds

This week was the last district meeting of the transfer and now everything is going to change. *sound the trumpets playing sad music* I've really enjoyed my district but I am excited to be able to meet new people. 

Hallelujah I am safe in Somersworth for at least one more transfer.. Unfortunately Sister Bee is leaving and I am getting a new companion. Do you all remember the lady in my very first email who I met at the airport and is in the Ward? Well she has a very sarcastic, yet very scary sense of humor and she came up to me a week ago while we were talking about how we hoped that Sister Bee wouldn't get transferred, and gave me a big hug and whispered in my ear "Sister Bee is leaving and you are going to get a companion who is crazier then me." *scary violin music* I am sure I will love my new companion just as much though!

Well unfortunately we didn't run into any crazy people this week. Sadly all of our investigators told us they were not interested anymore except for 2. So this week was a lot of walking and a lot of finding. People and their dang agency.. It's irritating! But God does have a purpose and a plan for all of us. 

I hope everyone LOVED conference as much as I did! It was so wonderful and really helped boost me spiritually. Sister Bee and I got us some treats and blankets and went and watched it in the chapel. Which was very different but it was nice because I feel like I could feel the spirit a lot better. 

So I thought it would be nice to share some of my favorite highlights of conference. 

So of course Elder Uchtdorf "Am I making my discipleship too complicated?" 

Elder Ballard says questions can and will be answered through the atonement 

Neil F Marriot says Gods way leads to more permanent and everlasting happiness in this life

My favorite talk by Larry R Lawrence says be humble enough to ask the Lord what we need to do to improve and be faithful enough to put it into action

Robert D Hales says you are rich when you live happily within your means

Another favorite of mine was Jeffery R Holland who said motherhood is the love of the highest order

Hugo Montoya reminded us to smile

Our beloved prophet Thomas S Monson reminded us to be pure in heart 

Russel M Nelson made me proud to be a women 

Henry B Eyring helped us know how to have the spirit with us more

D Todd Christofferson stated that this religion is not about self,it's about helping and serving one another.

Devin G Durrant invited us to ponderize a scripture weekly

Von G Keetch told us how lucky we are to have barriers to protect and bless us

Carole M Stephens proclaimed that the commandments equals love 

David A Bednar payed loving tribute and deepened my testimony on prophets and quoted "Come what may and love it" 

I know that's a lot of highlights but it was so hard to narrow it all down, I loved conference so much! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. 

Well that pretty much sums up my week! I have a feeling that next week will be quit an adventure. Adventure is out there! 

I will leave you all with a little testimony this week that I will forever be grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it's true and amazing things are going to be happening! 

Stay true

Remember that God loves you

And so do I 

(Even though His love is better)

Love, Sister Dickson 

Fall

Colored Sis Bee's Hair

Fall

Fall

Final District Meeting

Final District Meeting

Tracting in the rain