When we are diligent, the Lord blesses us! 11/30/16

Hi family and friends!!

First off, I'm writing on a Wednesday because we wanted to take a tour in a rainforest park/zoo, and unfortunately it's closed on Monday, so we asked permission to switch our pday for this week. But it was super great this morning! Love the rainforest so much! (I'll send pictures later..) We went with Sister Stasevskas, had lunch at her house and helped her set up her Christmas tree! Love her so much!

This week was full of miracles. Honestly, I'm not sure I have ever been so happy in my life--I LOVE my area, my ward, and my companion! Sister Dustin is one of the most dedicated and obedient people I know--and this week we really saw the hand of the Lord in our lives, blessing us for our diligence. I don't think I have ever taught more people in a week than this one--at the end of every day we were ASTOUNDED with how the Lord helped us to teach so many people (especially since our area is one hour away from our house), and even more astounded with how our investigators are progressing! Marlon was baptized on Saturday (he is so golden! It was amazing to see his smile from ear to ear when he went into the water!). Thelma was traveling in the southern part of Brazil the WHOLE week, but we started to teach her sister, Carol, and yesterday when we taught Thelma, she told us that she wants to be baptized and that she wants to do a fast. (And we had planned to invite her to do that, to be ready for her baptism next week--pretty neat!). Also, a recent convert, Claudio, introduced us to his friend, Hamilton, who is also just golden! We taught him for the first time on Saturday and when to Marlon's baptism that night, to Church on Sunday, and to a family home evening on Monday. And he already bought a case for his Book of Mormon. So adorable.

Also, we had another MIRACLE happen on Wednesday. We have been teaching a woman, Sílvia, and her three daughters: Letícia (12), Laisa (12) and Bianca (9). The girls have been going to church every Sunday for THREE YEARS. They are so amazing!! They read the scriptures every day and ask every night in their prayers that Sílvia would give permission for them to be baptized, but she never wanted to let them. We felt that it would be a good idea to fast for them and then to teach a very special lesson about the importance of baptism. At the end of the lesson Sílvia signed their baptismal form! She said that she saw that it really was the desire of their hearts! The girls started jumping for joy! :) I really saw the power of fasting and prayer to touch hardened hearts that day. :D

Lots of more things happened this week, but that will have to be it for the day! REMEMBER: GO TO MORMON.ORG TO PARTICIPATE IN THE "LIGHT THE WORLD" CHRISTMAS INITIATIVE--There is a short video and an idea to light the world through service every day!! We are all doing it here and I know that you all (and every one around you) will be immensely blessed!! Let's bring a little more light to this world through our beloved Savior Jesus Christ!

Have a great week!!

Sister Dickerson

My crazy week! 11/21/16

So first off, I discovered that the craziest time here in Belém is when there's a mission conference. Since our mission is huge (and the missionaries in Santarém, Macapá and Marabá don't even come), we had 16 sisters in our house Wednesday night, and about five on Thursday that would only be going back to their areas on Friday. It was pretty nuts--we had sisters sleeping on mattresses on the floor, in hammocks... but it all worked out it the end.

The mission conference was absolutely AMAZING. Pres. and Sister Stasevskas gave trainings about the importance of batism, the new Christmas initiative the Church is putting on (IT IS GOING TO BE SO AMAZING), and obedience. A few other missionaries also gave trainings about taking upon us the name of Christ and revelation. All in all, I loved it so much! Also, two days before the conference Sister Stasevskas called and asked Sister Dustin and I to do a special musical number... She played the flute, Sister McKinnon played piano, and I sang, I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go. It all worked out in the end! But I got so nervous that I was shaking all over. Also, I was feeling super creative this week since we are making a skit for our mission Christmas party in our zone--it is going to be Elder Scrooge. Super excited! And other news... I'm the ward's pianist now, so that's been fun.

As for the work, it's still going very well!! One of our investigators, Marlon, is absolutely golden and will be baptized this Saturday! (Pray for him!) He loves the Book of Mormon and is progressing very well. The only problem is that he drinks coffee like... five times a day. But when we taught him the Word of Wisdom he accepted it super well and said that he would drink something else instead. He really is the perfect investigator. I love seeing how the Lord prepares His children for the gospel. :) 

As always, I'm out time, but I love you all so much!

Praying for you daily,

Sister Dickerson

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11/14/16

Hello everyone!!

At the beginning of this week, we were a little bit nervous because all of our golden investigators were disappearing! We called, knocked on doors, talked with the neighbors... and nothing. Where did every one go? So we kept praying that the Lord would help us to find them again (and the other people that He had prepared for us), and that they would remember the things that we taught them, and that they would be protected from temptation. On Sunday we had only brought four investigators to church. I felt soooooo surprised when, in the middle of sacrament meeting, when I looked behind me and saw three investigators that we hadn't been able to talk with the whole week sitting in the last pew! Eleitos!!

This week we had a lot of experiences teaching about repentance and various commandments--it was so special to see people wanting to change and trusting in the Savior to be able to make those changes happen. Ruth, one of our investigators who had disappeared but showed up at church on Sunday, cried during Relief Society and bore her testimony that God lives, loves her, and has a plan for her. Alcides, a new investigator that we found this week, came to church and told us that he had prayed and felt an amazing peace and calm, and that he new that what we had taught was true. I love these little moments and blessings that we see every day--the gospel of Jesus Christ is so true! It really does change lives. If we are worthy, the Holy Ghost really is our constant companion.

On Wednesday, we had divisions with the sisteres in Entrocamento. I went with Sister McKinnon, from Idaho! (I'll send pictures next week). It was really interesting, and I learned so many things! We were able to teach a really special lesson with a woman who felt so much desire to repent. We invited her to repent and be baptized, and she accepted, but cried, saying that she didn't know if she would be ready before the 19th (the day of her baptism). I felt the Spirit so strongly as I testified that I had unshakable faith that through the Atonement, she would be ready by then. It was very special for us.

Please pray for Thelma and Andriano to have strength to keep the commandments!

I love you all so much! I pray for you daily!

Sister Dickerson

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Companheiras de novo!!! 11/7/16

Wow, so, as always, time is short! But this week was great!!! Sister Dustin and I are companions again, and we are giving it our best! (Endure/enjoy to the end, ya know?) But honestly, this week I only saw miracles!! Canudos is an area with lots of rich people and lots of poor people, but nearly all of them are receptive! The members gave us lots of referrals and all them are golden investigators! I honestly feel so grateful to be able to see God's hand in my life! 

At the beginning of the week we started with a teaching group of three people, so we prayed, with faith, that the Lord would show us His children that were prepared to hear us, and then we went to work. We found forteen new people to teach, and in every circumstance we saw how the Lord had prepared them to receive us. All of them have a great desire to be baptized and to become closer to the Lord! I would honestly love to write the story of every one of them but... time... But really quickly!! One night, when we were walking in the street, we stopped to talk with two young women who were seated by the side! We ended up teaching them the Restoration right there and when we invited them to pray, one of them, Bia, said that she had felt something that she had never felt before, and so listening to the conviction in our words, she felt that it was true, that God called a new prophet and restored His Church. It was so special for us to see the Spirit carrying our testimony to her heart. 

I love you all so much! I pray for you daily. 

Sorry for the rush, maybe next week will be more calm?

Sister Dickerson

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Transferência 10/31/16

Yesterday I received a phone call that gave me the shock of my life... I was waiting for our district leader to call to tell us about the transfer (I was pretty sure I would be sticking it out until the end in Providência), when I saw that it was President Stasevskas. I started shaking all over. He told me that I was being transferred to Canudos (near the center of Belém), to be sister training leader with Sister Dustin (one of my MTC comps). In our mission there are only four sister training leaders, so we have to visit and divide with all of the sisters in the mission.... It's going to be a lot of work, but I know that the Lord will be there to help me! I did NOT think that I would be called to do this since I only have six more weeks here... but Pres. Stasevskas assured me that he received a revelation that I need to be here, so the Lord must have something for me to do!

Sister Lima (love her sooooooo much), was also transferred, going to Satélite, so yesterday we had to hurry to leave everything ready for the new sisters that will be coming. I felt super happy to see that we have two people ready to be baptized 11/12--Laiane and Marimar, and this week they will be able to marry Ana and Esmeraldino. So the field is white for them. :D Pres. Stasevskas is going to let me visit to be able to see the baptisms. :D It was super hard saying goodbye to everyone in the ward--they really are like family! Especially Lília, Gleyson, Fernanda, Vitor (a in-active that is returning to church) and Ana. Love them so much. I took pictures, but I forgot my cord, so I'll send them next week.... Gleyson bore his testemony this week in sacrament meeting!

This week, we saw lots of miracles. But I don't have time to write them all! One that was pretty neat was Saturday night when nothing was going right, and an elderly man invited us to come in, Sabino. He told us that he was a Jehovah's Witness. I was a little apprehensive, but I never met someone so humble and willing to learn! He happily said that he would pray and be baptized when he receives and answer. We found lots of new people this week who were prepared by the Lord. I love being able to see the Lord's hand in our lives. 

I'm running out of time, but I love you all!! Happy Halloween!

Sister Dickerson

Vitor!

Ana, Esmeraldino, y Kailane!

Marimar!

Best acai ever!

Bryan!

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Stake Conference, Lília's prayer 10/24/16

Yesterday was stake conference here as well! We were blessed to have Elder Markus Aidukaitis and Elder Moroni Torgan of the Seventy visiting us to reorganize the stake presidency. President Oliveira (who is pretty much our best friend here haha) finished up nine years of service as stake president. The new presidency is made up of very young individuals, and when they all bore their testimony we felt very strongly that they really were called of God. The talks that we heard were full of faith, hope, and happiness--how when we build on the rock of Christ (Helaman 5:12) and keep the commandments (Mosiah 2:41) we are blessed true happiness--a taste of what is to come in the eternities. :) Our mission president, Presidente Stasevskas, also talked about the power of faith and the plan of salvation. I love him and Sister Stasevskas so much! They are just like parents away from home. :) Also, sidenote: Elder Aidukaitis's laugh is hilarious! And afterwards, when we met him, he told me that he had been to Minnesota twice, and both times it was 20 degrees below zero. haha

Lília was asked to give the closing prayer a few weeks ago and she was so neverous! But wow, when she prayed, I felt the Spirit so strongly that I started to cry! And many other people told her the same thing--including Elder Aidukaitis. She thanked God for the Atonement, for a living prophet and apostles, and asked for strength and guidance to share the plan of happiness with others. :) Gleyson also received the Melchezedek Priesthood afterwards, which we were able to witness. I know that I talk about this family alllllllll the time, but honestly, I don't think I have ever felt more love for someone on my mission. Seeing their conversion was one of the greatest miracles I have ever witnessed.

As for the rest of our week, we had a few ups and downs, but the work is going forward! Ana's birth certificate has been delayed (AGAIN), but hopefully it will be ready the end of this week so that we can start the process of her and Esmeraldino's wedding. Loren started to read the Book of Mormon, Marimar as well (AND she confirmed her baptismal date). And the rest of the crew as well. On Wednesday we had divisions and Sister Colussi came and spent the day with me (she was one of my comps in Paragominas last year--love her so much!!).

I hope everything is going will!! I pray for you all daily! Remember that it's the small and simple acts of faith that bring miracles--scripture study, prayer, obedience, etc.

Love you bunches!

Sister Dickerson

The Lord answers prayers 10/17/16

In the beginning of the week, we started out a bit discouraged because none our investisgators were progressing. We had to stop visiting nearly all of them actually... So we started the week with basically nothing, praying really hard, and trying to have lots of faith that the Lord would lead us to those of His children that would listen to us. We also prayed that He would guide us to families--preferably already married. Since marriages are so difficult to do here. And the Lord blessed us!

One day, we were knocking doors on a street that we had never entered before when we heard someone calling us, "Sister!! Siiiiissttteeeer!" Turns out it was Lília's cousin, Loren, that we had met at her wedding! When we met her the first time, she hadn't shown much interest, since she has a calling in her church and is pretty involved. But afterwards Lília started telling her about the church and about the gospel and she started to feel super interested. And her daughter, Sofia, loves us. :D So she called us, and we marked another day to come back. It was soooo amazing when we taught her about the Restoration and the Book of Mormon! She is a history professor and is extremely intelligent--she understood everything so perfectly about the great apostasy. And when we told her that the Book of Mormon teaches about when Jesus visited here in the Americas after her ressurrection, she got soooo excited! She said that she had always had questions about the "pre-colombians" and had always thought something like this was possible. :)

I'm not going to be able to talk about everyone we found this week (ou of time...), but we started teaching one woman, Brenda, that lives right in front of the church. She is wonderful! Already received her answer that the Restoration happened. :D And she keeps all of her commitments. #so nice We also had the surprise of seeing an investigator, Geronimo, come to Church on Sunday when he hadn't committed to go. Pretty neat!

And, yesterday, our President Stasevskas gave us permission to have lunch with Sister Lima's aunt, who lives in Belém (small world). It was super fun! Also--lots of good food and açaí. :D

Love you all so much!!

Sister Dickerson

Círio de Nazaré.. 10/10/16

I don't think I have ever mentioned Círio, have I? Just put it into Google and you'll understand. Círio is a Catholic festival that they have every year in Belém. And it's HUGE. They have a statue of Mary and baby Jesus that passes throughout all of Pará in a huge procession, ending in the large cathedral, Nazaré, in Belém. Thousands of people walk miles and miles, following the statue, some without shoes, and others on their knees, and arrive there bleeding in order to reach some "grace." I'm not a huge fan of how they worship the statue or saw that it (or Mary) cured them or answered their prayer, but their faith and the cultural aspect is nice to see. It just made our week a little difficult since from Friday to Sunday everyone goes to Belém, or is together with all of their family, and have absolutely no desire to go to Church or hear the missionaries... And every one drinks afterward. #notcool

But, yeah, our week wasn't exactly as we wanted it to be... We had some pretty sad things happen with some of our investigators (Jessica's parents decided that they won't be letting her come to church anymore and threatened her if we ever come to their house again... so sad...). And the rest of our investigators aren't progressing or decided to go to Círio... So this week we'll pretty much be starting from ground zero and finding lots of new people to teach. But, to count our blessings, Ana and Esmeraldino came to church on Sunday and are superrrrrr excited to get married (finally) and be baptized. We are just waiting for her birth certificate to be ready so we can get all the paper work done. :D And we found a new investigator, Vera, this week that said at least five times that we are holy servants of God sent to help her. So that was pretty special! And, it is always good to find new people. You try your faith and see God do His work. So I'm excited for this week! It'll be great! :)

I love you all so much!! Have a great week!!

Sister Dickerson

This Wednesday is Children's Day here in Brazil. So here is Sister Lima and I, kids forever. :D

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General Conference!!! 10/3/16

Wow!! It seems like every time we have General Conference, I never want it to end! It is such an amazing thing to know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really is guided by our Lord and Savior. He really does call prophets and apostles in our day, and they really do receive revelation to guide the whole Church, collectively, and individually. Just think about how blessed we are to have this guidance. I learned so many things and had so many prayers answered. When we pass for difficulties, we must remember our Master who descended below all things so that He could carry us in the hard moments. We need to strengthen our faith through sincere prayer and diligence--testifying fearlessly of the things we know! Do we really believe the things we know about the Atonement? About the Plan of Salvation? About the Restoration of the gospel? Are we, as members and missionaries, really doing all that we can to work together to bring this glorious message to the hearts of God's beloved children who have already accepted this plan long ago? We need to keep working! Keep our faith strong! As Pres. Uchtdorf said in the Women's Conference, many times, the promised blessings won't be found behind the first few doors on the first floor.

This week we had a few ups and downs, but I am still SUPER HAPPY. Some members have taken up the cause to help us and presented us to some of their family and friends. Not every one wanted to hear, but there were some that did! Specifically, we taught an elderly man, Assis, who may or may not have Alzheimer's (we feel the Spirit so strongly in the lesson, he commits to read or pray, and afterwards forgets...), and another, Naldo, who has a lot of potencial. He has been seeking more spiritual light in his life. Jessica, a young woman that we have been teaching for the past month, finally got the courage to talk to her parents about being baptized, but her mom still thinks she hasn't been attending our Church long enough. Please pray for Jessica--she wants to be baptized so much, but her stepfather is very anti-mormon and has been treating her very poorly. We love her very much.

I don't have too much news besides this... Sister Lima and I gave a training about charity and obedience on Wednesday for our district, and we made a little craft of tiny missionaries with big hearts on their chests to put on their planners. It was super cute. And the election here is FINALLY over (for the past month there have been cars blaring jingles about various candidates, with people waving flags in the streets as if were a civic protest), Sister Lima got sick for a few days this week, but is feeling much better now... And... General Conference was also great because everyone gives the sisteres food, since sisters are better than elders. :P

Love you all bunches! Praying for you all daily!

Sister Dickerson

Um dos batismos mais lindos de minha vida 9/19/16

That's right everyone, Lília and Gleyson were baptized this Saturday!! It was a much expected event--nearly the whole ward came. Jhennyfer, a little eight-year-old girl, was also baptized with them. Jhennyfer's mom and stepdad are members, but she lived with her dad, who is strongly against the Church, until about three months ago. When her mom, Inês, was finally able to get the right to have Jhennyfer live with her, she asked us to teach her the missionary lessons to prepare her to be baptized. She is really a special little girl. :) The service was so beautiful. I went into the bathroom to help Lília, and when I entered she was leaning on the sink, praying and crying. I went to the door and watched Jhennyfer's baptism and looked back at Lília. She had fallen to her knees and was crying more than ever. When she left the water she couldn't stop crying and we stayed there, in a big, wet, group hug with Sister Lima, Fernanda, and Amanda, a member that helped us a lot teaching her. It was so beautiful! She said she had never felt so overpowered by the Spirit in her life. And I think we all were. Afterwards, Sister Lima and I sang our own version of "Come Thou Fount" in Portuguese and English (I don't know how, we were all crying...). I loved the day sooooo much.

Ah, and transfers! So I'm staying here in Providência again. Fourth transfer, and the first time that I'll be staying with a companion for three transfers! It's a good thing that I love Sister Lima hahaha.

As for the rest of our week, we visited a pretty cool park on our last p-day with lots of birds and the Belém lighthouse--neat, right? And Sílvia finally went to church!! And said that she is going to stop drinking coffee, since "it's a sin." Love golden investigators. :) Also, we heard an AMAZING talk about the gift of the Holy Ghost yesterday. The best explained that I have ever heard in my life. Loved it!

I'm running out of time, like always, but I love you all so much and pray for you daily!

Sister Dickerson

Sou um filho de Deus 9/13/16

First off, sorry for not warning that I wouldn't be writing yesterday! We spent all day in Belém at a mission conference! Elder Antunes from the Seventy visited us. So our p-day is today this week. (Also, transfers are next week, so if I don't write, you know why). But the conference was sooooooo wonderful yesterday! Elder Antunes is a firecracker! One minute he was reading the scriptures, explaining doctrine, and crying with emocion. And the next he was running, jumping, and yelling! (He reinacted how it was when David killed Goliath!) We spent the whole day, laughing, crying, and being spiritually fed! I learned soooooo much. He taught about a lot of things--how repentance is the ESSENCE of life, our true purpose to be here, how we need to have a change of heart--through the waters of baptism and the blood of Christ, partaking of the sacrament each week. He also taught us lots about teaching skills--using scriptures better, inspired questions, etc. AND he gave us some advice in how to stay strong after the mission--always paying your tithing, and marrying in the temple. Which you can do ONLY dating people who love and attend the temple regularly. The last part was a bit trunky, but all in all, I loved the conference. Learned so much.

The rest of our week was super crazy and as well. Lília and Gleyson got married on Saturday!!! I was one of the witnesses. :D We spent the afternoon getting their reception ready--which was super nice. :D It was so beautiful to see the love in their eyes, one for another. I really have seen the gospel change these people! They hardly spoke with eachother before, and now they are looking into the eternities. :D Also, their ceremony was super funny because the justice who married them had the funniest voice ever. It reminded me a lot of the Princess Bride.

On Wednesday it was Independence Day here in Brazil! And we had a day in Belém with a lot of elderly people. We put on skits and sang for them! It was so great! And we danced with them, played games... I loved it! I think Sister Stasevkas put a video on FB of our song--Sou um Filho de Deus with the ukulele. :D

No more time! Love you all!!

Resgate é importante!! 9/5/16

Right, so my time is nearly up, so I'll have to be quick today! For starters, we had an AMAZING Sunday! Lília, Gleyson, Ana, Esmeraldino, Jéssica, Vani, and Ricardo all were able to come! And they all liked it, I think. :D Sílvia got sick, unfortunately, but she came to a ward activity on Thursday and loooooved it. Also, Max, unfortunately, moved out of our area! But we passed his address on to our district leaders, who went there. He said that he moved because I wants to be baptized like we invited him, and knew that he couldn't live with his girlfriend until they get married. So that was pretty neat! He is really dedicated to overcoming his addictions so that he can receive all of the blessings of the restored gospel.

This week we have been doing lots more work with reativation. Our bishop challenged everyone to do a bit more to help our friends who have fallen away from the church come back, to go after the one sheep that fled. So we decided to take that challenge as well! And wow did I love it! Six people that we visited came on Sunday, which was a joy just as big as our investigators that came! It was a little funny on Friday when we were knocking doors and, by accident, found Natalice, a less-active member. She was so happy to see us! After church on Sunday we had a family home evening with her family, and tomorrow we are going to have lunch with them. They were just needing someone to show them that they weren't forgotten. So keep trying, wherever you are, to help those who have fallen away. They are all children of God, and He wants them to live in His presence as well! :)

Also, we found a super cool new investigator, Fagner, that is just golden! But I'll write more about him next week!

Also--went to Belém to renew some documents this week and saw Eddy (Elder R. Mercado), it's soooo nice to talk about Minnesota every once in a while.

Love you all so much!

Sister Dickerson

8/29/16

I wanted to start off today telling you about a conversation I had with Neide, the bishop's wife, yesterday. Love her so much. She was telling me about some of the experiences she had on her mission in São Paulo years ago, and mentioned how much beautiful it is to see people through the eyes of our Heavenly Father. At home, I remember a few times in the temple when I looked at the elderly people serving there and thought, "Wow, they are so beautiful." Here, it's amazing, it seems that we can look at the people in the street and already love them, already seeing their divine potential. I really do love the people here. And I know that this isn't something exclusively for missionaries--we all can feel the pure love of Christ, if we try to see God's children through His eyes.

Right, but I had a few cool experiences that I wanted to tell you all real quick! First off, we started teaching Max, who is dating a less active member. He already had gone to church a few times in another ward and was taught by some elderes more that four months ago. Usually when you teach past investigators, they remember a few things vaguely, but not much. But wow! When we started to teach about the first vision, he interrupted us and told us everything he remembered, which was a lot. He was practically glowing as he told us. He said that he has some addictions (smoking, drinking), but he realllllllyyyy wants to get over them and be baptized. So that was pretty neat. :) We also started teaching his neighbor, Sílvia, one day when he wasn't home. She's from Mato Grosso (another state in Brazil) and said that her DREAM is to be baptized by immersion. Also, another tender mercy. :)

Also, every one here is trying to fatten us up and is constantly giving us food. No complaints here! On Sunday we literally didn't eat anything at home. Gospel Principles was about the word of wisdom and Neide prepared a delicious healthy breakfast for everyone, we had lunch with the bishop, the elderes gave us cookies, and there were even refreshments at ward council that night. #Blessed

Love you all so much, I pray for you daily!

Sister Dickerson

Also, if you are looking for something to study this week: Mosiah 14 and 15 :)

Why Angels Don't Convert People 8/22/16

We started teaching a really nice family this week. One of the daughters, Eliane, is less active, and her mom and her sister, Stefany, never were taught by the missionaries. Her mom told us a super interesting story about the Eliane's confirmation. She had opened her eyes and saw an ANGEL with his hands on her head as well, with the other priesthood holders.

When we left from that lesson, I began pondering about this, if she saw an angel there, why didn't she ever come back to visit our church? Then I remembered various people in the scriptures who had the priviledge to see angels but still were not converted. For example, Alma was called to repentance by an angel, but later in his ministry he said that he had fasted and prayed many days to receive a testimony (Alma 5). Miracles can strengthen our faith, but they won't produce faith.

Also, I don't know if you all remember Maria das Graças that disappeared before her baptism in June, but she came back!! She has been breaking the word of wisdom, but we are teaching her again!

Also... Vani and Ricardo are doing well, we helped them clean up their house after reforming this week and also tried our first tacacá (a typical soup of Pará). It was delicious, and has a leaf that leaves your whole mouth tingling!

That is just about it for this week! Love you all!

Firme e forte!

Sister Dickerson

Minha semana LINDA 8/15/16

Right, so I'm going to jump right to the best part--FERNANDA WAS BAPTIZED THIS SATURDAY! It was sooooooo amazing. Just to explain a little bit, because I never remember what I have already told you all, but Fernanda has been coming to church every Sunday with her parents (Lília and Gleyson) since June. She is 19 years old. In the beginning she was very sceptic--she didn't even believe in Jesus Christ. (Gleyson also didn't believe in anything), but, bit by bit, we saw her faith changing. One day she commented that she believed that Jesus is our Savior. And last week she told us that she believes in the Restoration and that Joseph Smith was a prophet. She still had some other doubts, but she was always willing to keep learning and trying her faith. We challenged her last week to read in the Book of Mormon every day and ask, every day, if the book is true, and consequently, if this gospel is true. On Tuesday of this week we read the questions of the baptismal interview with her and responded to many of her questions. When we had finished, I told her, quietly, "You passed on all of the questions. I think you are prepared to be baptized. But it's you that has to decide if you are ready." She hardly let me finish my phrase, when she said, excitedly, "I want to be baptized!"

The baptism on Saturday was so wonderul. One of the most spiritual meetings that I've been to. She was glowing! After the baptism, one of the conselours in the bishopric was looking at my planner, and decided to read a quote that I had put there, about how we need to see people through the eyes of our Heavenly Father--that it is so then that we will be able to see the true worth of one soul. Sister Lima and I sang "I am a Child of God" (except we modernized it a bit and sang a part in English), and at the end of the service, every one was crying. Even Fernanda's grandma, who always said lots of horrible things about the Church. In the end, she hugged me and Sister Lima and thanked us profusely for bringing her family to the light. It was so beautiful. On Sunday Fernanda told us how good she was feeling, having received the gift of the Holy Ghost and how she felt that she was learning much quicker. I feel soooo grateful to be able to see the conversion of a beloved daughter of God. :D

I had other stories I was going to tell about the week, but my time is up! Love you all so much! You are all in my prayers!

Sister Dickerson

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Depois das tribulações vem as bênçãos!! 8/8/16

First off, this week we had transfers! And I'll be staying here in Providência com minha filha Sister Lima! Whoo-hoo!! I love Sister Lima--every day is a party with her. :)

This week was a bit of a roller coaster! It started out great on Monday with a zone p-day! We all went to a member's house that is literally in the middle of the jungle. :) We explored a bit, had churrasco, played uno... it was a good time. Except that I was swinging in a hammock that one of the elderes had brought and the cord broke (whoops! I fell pretty hard, but it was pretty funny as well). And that night we had a family home evening in the house of a member and she invited all of her friends! (None live in our area, but it was super neat! We taught about our divine nature, being children of God :) ).

The rest of the week was pretty difficult. We got a lot of doors in our faces, met a lot of crazy people and atheists, and saw a lot of our investigators not willing to keep commitments (chatooooooo). HOWEVER, after the trials come the blessings!! Lília and Gleyson fasted for the time on Sunday, Fernanda is reading the Book of Mormon and praying every day, and the Lord blessed us SOOOO MUCH with new families to teach!! (I LOVE TEACHING FAMILIES). We found two that are legally married (WHAT???) Cris and Cleberson, and Amanda and Wendeson.

Teaching Amanda was one of the most beautiful experiences on my mission. She has two daughters--Sofia, who is seven and has Down's Syndrome, and Lívia, that is 18 months old and a little firecracker. We had just sat down and started to talk with Amanda when Sofia entered, gave me the sweetest kiss on the cheek and started to hug me and wouldn't let me go. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I felt so much love for that pure, beautiful little girl. Amanda was very surprised, saying that she usually doesn't take to strangers so quickly. The Spirit filled the room; I knew that the Lord had told that little girl, His daughter, that we were there to help her family. We taught Amanda the message of the Restoration and left feeling that we had truly been instruments in the Lord's hands.

We also started teaching a young man, Flávio, that was taught about five years ago. And remembers nearly everything. That doesn't happen! He recently lost his mother and it seemed that he was waiting for us to come. He was sitting just inside the door, and when we knocked he imediately welcomed us in. We taught him about the Plan of Salvation, and once again, it was wonderful!

This is what I love most about being a missionary and about the gospel--seeing the Lord bless the lives of His children and being the means by which He does it! This gospel is so wonderful. It really is the gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ!!

Love you all so much! Praying for you daily. :)

Sister Dickerson 

Vamos ter um casamento aqui!! 8/1/16

That's right!!! We FINALLY managed to get Lília and Gleyson's wedding in the process!! We went to the cartório three times with them--the first time there was a problem with the money, the second the didn't want to accept Lília's birth certificate, and on the third it all worked out! They went to a cartório (sorry, I'm really not sure how that word translates--it's the place where you work out birth certificates and marriage licenses...) in Belém super early on Friday to get a new birth certificate, and about 10 AM picked us up to go to the cartório in Ananindeua. The first available date was September 10--but I think I'll still be here in the area on that day to see the wedding and baptism! I'm soooooo excited! I love this family so much. I don't think I have ever met a family so dedicated and so prepared to hear the gospel. And the best part about it all with them is that they know that baptism isn't the end goal. They are already making plans to go to the Recife temple in November next year and be sealed for all eternity. :D (Here's a great quote from Gleyson this week: casamento eterno = festa eterna). The bishop gave them a few pictures to hang in their house on Sunday--one of Jesus Christ, one of the Recife temple, and "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." Needless to say, they were very excited.

Fernanda (their daughter), went to an encampment this week and loved it! She also saw a baptism there. She is finally starting to pray with real intent (I even saw her praying during the sacrament), and I have no doubt that she will receive her answer soon. :D

We found lots of new investigators this week, and slowly but surely we are finding those who really have interest in hearing about the gospel. My favorites were one young man, Jordan, who always asked himself why there are so many churches and so many different doutrines. His eyes lit up when he heard the message of the Restoration. Also, we started teaching a family, Vánia and Ricardo, that have two young sons. They are such a special family! They contacted US in the street and asked us to teach them. Needless to say, we love them very much. :)

I love you all so much and pray for you daily! :)

Sister Dickerson

Fotos--I made the most delicious brownies of my life last Monday, and here are some pretty flowers that grow EVERY WHERE here. They brighten up my day. :D

Aprendendo a ter ESPERANÇA 7/25/16

So on Wednesday in our district meeting, Elder Rocha was feeling rather inspired and asked all of us to choose a little piece of paper--each of them had a different Christ-like attribute for us to study during the week and seek to develop in our lives. Everyone was praying not to pick patience... and it was Elder Rocha that ended up with that one. Haha... But I picked hope. And I thought, hey that's good because when I was in Santarém and nothing was going right I studied hope every day. And things got a lot better. I had already put a little check mark in my mind next to hope--só que não!! This week I saw that the Lord really was trying me--to see if I could endure trials and setbacks well while trusting in His timing--that His promised blessings will be given when He decides that the time is right.

For starters, Jacqueline disappeared for a week, and her baptism was supposed to be on Saturday... It was hard to remain positive and hopeful in her case when we tried so many times to talk to her and weren't able to... but yesterday night, as we passed her house, we saw Jackson, her twin, that likes us (unlike her mom...) and called her for us. She seemed super happy to see us and said that she had been missing our visits so much. But also, seeing that a week had passed without being able to follow up with her, she hadn't been reading the Book of Mormon or praying. And so, obviously, she doesn't feel ready to be baptized. We read 1 Nephi 1 with her (to help her start from the beginning), and expressed our love for her. She was so calm when we left, knowing that we visit her to help her come unto Christ--to be converted to Him. Maybe this will need a bit of time with her. Everything has to happen in the Lord's timing!

A similar thing happened with Fernanda. She's been going to church for two months with Lília and Gleyson and still doesn't feel ready to be baptized--but considering that she didn't even believe in Christ when we met her, we're counting it as progress. This week she almost gave up on everything because of the pressure of friends... but Lília and Gleyson kneeled down together and prayed to know how they could talk to her to help her continue coming to church. And she's still coming. She'll even be going to encampment this week. Sincere prayers really are answered. Especially in the response to loving parents praying for their children.

Just a quick side note, we started teaching two brothers, Leon and Cristiano, who are the funniest people on the planet! It is super hard to stop laughing with them. But the best moment teaching them was when we were explaining the Book of Mormon for Leon and he told us what his true idea of happiness is. He said that he wants a family in the future--united, well structured, and centered on Christ. He said that he has already visited many churches and has never found one that centers with his idea of happiness. It was such a special experience to testify of the eternal nature of families and the restored Church on the earth today.

That's about it for this week, folks! Love you all so much; I pray for you all daily.

Love,

Sister Dickerson

pics: my new journal and the hair skills of Sister Lima. :)

Why Church movies are so great 7/18/16

So, as you know, I always love to talk about Lília and Gleyson!! We ran into some problems with the cartório, but we should be able to straighten them out this week and get their wedding all ready for August! They are reading lots and lots in the Book of Mormon and loving it! (I think Lília is just about done with 1 Nephi, Fernanda is in chapter 14 and Gleyson is still in the first few chapters). They all started to ask lots of questions about Joseph Smith's life, after the first vision. So... we decided to borrow "Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Restoration" from some members. Lília couldn't contain her excitement and watched it during the week (they watched it as a family yesterday after church). She said that she couldn't stop crying throughout the whole movie. I feel so blessed to know this amazing family!

As for the rest of our week, it was a little rough... a few investigators decided that they didn't want to hear any more, one of our investigator's moms expelled us from her house... but that's just the way it is sometimes!! Sister Lima and I are super excited to find lots of people this week that are going to want to hear about the gospel! (Side note: Sister Lima is awesome. Love her so much!!)

Sorry I don't have too much news this week! Love you all so much!!

Sister Dickerson

And I almost forgot: Yesterday we were almost kidnapped! A woman stopped us and asked about the church, and asked if we could talk more in the shade; when we got there, there was a car waiting (WHAT??), but inside there was a family from Paragominas that I love sooooo much! (I call them Mom and Dad and they call me daughter. :D) They were pulling a trick on us! Yep, now that's all I've got. :)

Loving Golden Investigators! 7/11/16

Just the highlights this week because in a bit we are going to the cartório!!!!! Whoo-hoo!!! Lília and Gleyson are going to get married, so we'll be going with them to enter all of their documents and such. Soooooo excited!!! :)

Right, so this week we had a mission conference which was super great!! Wow, I think I had never heard a talk so good like the one Presidente Stasevskas gave. He spoke about the Atonement and how it perfectly overcomes the barriers that we faced in the pre-mortal life and because of the Fall, so that we can one day receive all of the blessings that God wants for us (to be with him, to learn/progress, to live forever, and to have our families). It was great!

We also started teaching a friend of Lília, Jacqueline. She is AMAZING. We all felt the Spirit so strongly when we taught her the Restoration. She was crying throughout the whole lesson. And we we asked her afterwards if she had prayed about our message, she said that she did, but she already KNEW that it was true before she prayed. Annnnnd when we gave her the Book of Mormon, she got so excited! She had always asked herself why Jesus had only visited in Jerusalem and not in the other parts of the world. And why there weren't other witnesses of Him. We left her with 3 Nephi 11 to read and a pamphlet of the Plan of Salvation, since she had some questions. The next day she called us, soooo excited, because she now knows that she lived with God, why she is here on the earth, and what will happen afterwards. #ELEITA 
I am honestly overflowing with happiness right now because of her. Even if some other things didn't go so well, just teaching Jacqueline made the week perfect! God really does prepare His children. 

And sidenote--Lília invited her because she loves her friend. She didn't know that Jacqueline would embrace the gospel with open arms, since she already had a church--you never know who in your lifes God is preparing! But you have to do your part and invite all to come unto Christ! If your feeling a little timid, pray and ask our Heavenly Father who He wants you to invite. I promise that there are people that you know that need to hear about the gospel in this moment!


Love you all bunches!
Sister Dickerson


Here in the pics I have lots of my past companions-S. Lima, Barth, Dustin, Packard, Colussi... quase the the whole gang.





Here's some pics from an activity we had yesterday--we set up some tables with lots of materials about the Church and invited everyone in the praça to come and find out more! It was pretty neat!