I LOVE my new area. 💗💗💗
I looked out my window and what did I see? Not popcorn popping but snowflakes falling. It snowed about 2 inches last night. The first New England snowfall of the year... Dun Dun Dun! (Dramatic music) 🎶🎶 the snow looks absolutely gorgeous out here in the woods, but oh man, I am not sure I am prepared for the snow yet!
Something that I really didn't want (but never admitted out loud) was to go to the boonies. I wanted to stay in the cities with my nice Target and street lights.
But God has a sense of humor, so of course He sends me to one of the booniest areas in the whole mission.
Milo, Manie. Population just around 200 people and trees. Lots and lots of trees. 🌲🌳🌲🌳
I am pretty sure there are more cats here then people.🐈 Sister Jensen will appreciate me telling you all this but the other day she waved to a cat. In her defense she thought it was one of the kids in the window. I couldn't help but make the comment, you know you've been in the boonies for too long when you wave to cats. 🐈
They have one grocery store here in Milo. One Rite-Aid and one Family Dollar. The only chain restaurant in the whole town is a Dunkin Doughnuts. 🍩And it's located inside the grocery store called TradeWinds.
The area that I am in is the biggest area in the mission. It's about four times the size of the Somersworth area and most of it is all dirt roads and pot holes. Man, I thought the pot holes were bad in New Hampsire, I had no idea what I was even talking about. Perks of being in the boonies here is that we get to drive a Jeep Compass. Four Wheel drive and them pot holes are NOTHING! 🙅🏽
I know for sure that all of you will get a kick out of this one. I live in a barn. Yupp that's right, you read me. A BARN. 🐓🐷🐮🐴🐣
I LOVE my new companion Sister Jensen. She has been out for about 8 months now and she is a doll. Her favorite color is pink and sparkles and she went to nail school. Her and I share the same obsession of Bath and Body Works so you can assume our apartment smells like HEAVEN. 💁🏼It's so fun being companions with her. We just laugh and laugh and laugh.
Despite the lack of people here we are teaching all the time. The people here are absolutely the best. They really don't have a lot here. Most of it is trailer parks. But not like the nice trailer parks you see in Utah. Those are mansions compared to here. I am talking about like their roof is a sheet of metal kind of trailers. But even though they have close to nothing here, all they do is give. They are so willing to listen and help. I just love the people here. Some of the absolutely best people ever.
So right now we have 12 people we are teaching, 5 progressing investigators and 2 of them are getting baptized on Saturday. It is AWESOME! We also have plans to get the other 3 investigators baptized this transfer as well.
There aren't a lot of members here at the Dover Fox-Croft branch. And most of them are less actives. The funny thing about the less actives here is that most of them have really strong testimonies and they love the church. Most of them just don't come because they don't like leaving their houses. Most people here don't leave their houses unless they have to. Which is awesome for us because they are usually home for teaching appointments, it's just getting them to come to church that is the struggle. So we are doing a lot of work with the less actives so that we can turn this branch into a Ward!
Speaking of less actives, who wants to hear a miracle?!?!
So on Sunday we were having a lesson with a less active member who I love so much already. She has been having her doubts and says she feels she gets fed spiritually more at her old church she went to before she got baptized. She hasn't really been able to feel the spirit in our branch lately. But what is so awesome about her is that she is honestly trying to find the answer to which church is true. Just like Joseph Smith did. She has been studying out of the Book of Mormon and the Bible trying to find her answer and she expressed to us that she was being pulled back to her old church. Now don't you think we just said ok and gave up! I know that this is the true church that EVERYONE has a place in it and that the church will keep us on that right path as we journey back to our Heavenly Father. I would absolutely would not be here if I didn't know that this was true and good. So we read with her the conference talk from the Oct 2015 called "The Joy of Living a Christ Centered Life" by Richard J. Maynes. After we read and discussed the talk I had a promoting to show her the Mormon Message "Wrong Roads" (if you haven't seen this one I HIGHLY recommend that you go watch it on YouTube or on Lds.org) this video talks about how sometimes God takes us down the wrong road for a bit until we hit a dead end so we can know with a surety that the other road is the right one.
Well here comes the miracle, Buckle up and get ready for this one because it'll knock your socks off.
Right in the middle of the video she got a text. She looked down and her phone, looked back up at us and down back at her phone with complete shock on her face. I paused the video and she showed us the text and I couldn't help but smile as she told us to continue with the video. "You know," she said, "I was convinced the Mormon church was the dead end until I got that text."
The text was from a sister missionary who had taught her before she got baptized. All it said was "hi! How are you, how is everything going?"
God answers our prayers in ways that we will recognize them. At the beginning of the lesson we were discussing her concerns and we asked her if she has asked God which church is true. "Well, of course I have!" She exclaimed. "He just hasn't answer me." We asked her how she expected her answer to come and so told us that she really didn't know.
Then BAM! Thank our lucky stars for fabulous return missionaries who follow promptings.
"I am speechless." Is all that she could say at the end of the lesson.
Guys, I hope you all just realized how freaking FANTASTIC that was.
Because I came here on a mission and because I put my fears aside and decided to trust in God, I got to witness that tender moment in history where God answered her prayer.
Seeing that change in people and feeling the beauty of our all loving Heavenly Father through our loving and wonderful Savior Jesus Christ as They work Their miracles through me and Sister Jensen. Two little completely unqualified, but willing to try their best, girls from Utah.
Seeing that and getting that opportunity to witness a wonderful Daughter of God choke back tears because of the love she could feel from our God is so much better then sleeping in. So much better then watching YouTube on my iPhone and watching Pretty Little Liars and the Walking Dead. So much better then listening to all the awesome new music coming out, so much better then having free time to just hang around and relax. So much better then getting your hair washed and done. So much better then a 3 hour massage and a pedicure.
Absolutely nothing is better then being able to witness that beautiful moment in time.
Man, I am so glad I am here. It's so cool! I love it.
I am so blessed to be able to serve in this beautiful and peaceful area. With these humble and wonderful people. The only thing that could possibly make this better is if all my friend from the Somersworth Ward packed up and moved to the Dover Branch👍🏼
Church is true my friends. God does answer prayers, and He will answer yours.
Love you all a lot!!
Have a great week.
Love, Sister Dickson.
Hey ps if you wanna send me stuff my wonderful mother or brother or whoever posts my letters will be able to get you my new address!!
The ride to Milo
Dinner with a sweet member here sister Call!
Here is the sweet snowman Ginny gave me last week
People give us so many treats! They are awesome
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