Two months today!

Wow, it's really weird to think that I've been a missionary for two months now... And I'm happy to say that I survived another week here in Brazil. :) 

You know that scripture in 2 Nephi that says that there is opposition in all things? That was this week... We had two glorious weeks and then this one. Nearly all of our appointments fell through; none of our investigators came to church; my companion had to go to the hospital; and I got a cold/virus. How fun. 

However, I don't want you to think that I'm down in the dumps because I'm not! I'm still loving the mission. I think it was really good for me to have a week like this because it made me appreciate more the highlights of the week, the experiences I have already had, and the quite moments throughout the day in which I can rest! We learn through hard things, and we grow through our trials! And even though this week was a little difficult, it was still a good week because I'm serving the Lord.

I do want to share with you a little story about a 17-year-old that we are teaching named Henrrique. He was a referral from one of the people here in the ward, Yago, who actually just left to serve a mission in Portugal. Henrrique is so special. The other night, we were teaching him the law of chastity, and I felt prompted to mention eternal marriage. It was so powerful! We had a member, Felipe, with us and he shared his testimony and feelings about the power of the temple. The next day we (finally) found Henrrique's mom. It was so clear that she had been prepared by the Lord to hear our message. As we talked to her about her son and his faith, she began to cry. She shared her feelings of faith and confusion with all the churches here (There are seriously ten churches on every block). It was SO special. I love this gospel and I love this work!

Also, we had stake conference yesterday! So that was great. And last night I got to watch the Testaments with a family of recent converts. That was really special, too. I still think that movie is super cheesy... but I love how it truly testifies of the Savior. He lives and He loves us!!

Love you all,

Sister Dickerson

This is Yago--he left Wednesday to serve in the Lisbon, Portugal mission!

Brasil Belém--Missão de Milagres!

Òla!!

If I don't have time to respond to everyone's personal emails... my apologies. Time is short!

This week was pretty great! I'm gradually learning more and more about the language, culture, and my purpose as a missionary. I think I'm just going to skip to the good stuff--

We had another baptism!! His name is Cleiton; he is 13 years old! We met him my first day here, as he is Yarlei's cousin. He is honestly such a great example of faith; it's a gift of the Spirit to be able to believe so readily without doubts, and he has it! Getting to know him as been such a blessing! On the day of his baptism he was 40 minutes late... which of course caused us much anxiety! However, when we went to his house to get him, we found out that he had wanted to be as presentable as possible. He had even parted his hair; he was practically jumping for excitement as we walked to the chapel. :)

Let's see... other miracles... We were tracting and came across some very special people. One is Anderson; he told us that he already had a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Church, his only problem was going to church! So we're working with him to get him there. We also met a woman named Gleicy who is married (legally--super rare here) and super excited to learn! She already has lots of member friends! Also there are Rosa and her son Jonathan; we taught the Restoration for them. The Spirit was soooo strong. So strong. I'm really excited for them.

Honestly, all of our investigators here are wonderful. The people here are so open and receptive. Their only problem is commitments. It's difficult to get them to actually follow through... but ya know, agency and all. One huge help here has been the ward. Cabanagem has one of the best wards I have ever seen! They have activities almost every night; the members love to fellowship and work with us! It is soooo great! I'm making lots of friends in the primary. Currently all the little girls call me "Elsa" or "Frozen." It's pretty funny to be an American here...

Oh! This was a fun experience. One night we were teaching Yarlei and Cleiton in the street when all these little kids gathered round to hear the lesson. It was so special! Afterwards they were swarming us... saying "Hello" and "gracias"... It was difficult to get to our next appointment!

Honestly, I love this gospel. Some days are hard. Some days I feel really homesick, but I know that I'm doing the Lord's work! And I'm honestly so blessed. For one, the food here is amazing.

Love you all so much!!

Sister Dickerson

Brazil!

Wow.

Too be honest, I really don't know what to tell you. Except that this keyboard is really difficult. Brazil is so... different. So interesting. And also so great! The people here are really friendly and helpful. Their accent also is super difficult... I talked with a lot of missionaries from São Paulo and could understand them fine, but the locals are MUCH more difficult. But I'm learning so much every day! Every day it gets a little easier. And we talk to people all the time... I think Sister Mimbela and I had 102 contacts this week! Woot woot!

Oh, Sister Mimbela is my "Mãe"--or my trainer. She's from Lima, Peru! A member told me last night that I'm starting to get a hispanic accent... She's fantastic, super helpful and super pacient. So I am really blessed. Really blessed. She's been helping me a lot to get past all the culture shock.

So right now I'm serving in Cabanagem, an area of Belém. Too be perfectly honest it's really the slums... Culture shock, I tell you. But I love it here! It's really hot. Really hot. I sweat all the time. Some days this week were really difficult to stay positive and keep the homesickness away... but then, at the end of the day, I know that every thing was worth it. Our ward is also super cool! They all want to be involved in missionary work!

Oh!!! BIG NEWS!! We had a baptism on Saturday. :D His name is Yarlei--he's ten years old and AWESOME. Other missionaries did most of the teaching, so when we arrived we just had to teach him some of the commandments. His baptism was so special! On Sunday in the MTC, I fasted for a miracle... not a miracle in my own life, but to see a miracle happen in some one else's. I felt like this was the answer. I loved seeing the huge smile on his face. Also, pretty neat, Brasil Belém is the "Missão de Milagres." Pretty coincidental.

Any how, this week was crazy... there are so many little things I'd love to tell you all if I had more time... unfortunately I don't! But bathrooms here are very different, the food is also very different (but great!), and being an American here is.. an experience. But I love missionary work!

Love you all so much!

Sister Dickerson

"Be strong, and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest." -Joshua 1:9 (My motto nowadays) :)

So Close!

Boa tarde!

Alright, so I might as well get the big news out of the way first: I'M GOING TO BRAZIL IN SIX DAYS. No big deal. My visa came through yesterday! I'll be flying for about 23 hours, and I'm so excited for it! It looks like I will be going first to Atlanta, then Sao Paulo, and then back up to Belem. Woo-hoo! My whole district got their visas this week as well! Sister Dustin, unfortunately, is going on a different flight than me, first to Detroit. However, Elder Ploeger will be on the same flight as me as far as Sao Paulo, so I shouldn't be completely lost and on my own the whole time! This was honestly such a faith-builder to me that I am going where the Lord needs me. A few weeks ago, I prayed saying that I would leave this whole visa matter in the Lord's hands. He knows where I need to be, who I need to talk to, and what I need to learn. I know that I was supposed to meet certain people here in Provo, learn from them, and build strong relationships. I also know that the Lord's hand was in getting me to Brazil at the last moment as well. :)

As for this week--it's been an adventure! We had thirty-six new missionaries join our zone on Wednesday, which made hosting a nearly all-day affair. I hosted more elders than sisters, which was quite the experience. I'm not sure how all of the elder's moms felt about a sister walking their son around the MTC for their first day on their mission... but it had to be done! The other thing is that I've been adjusting to is being a Sister Training Leader. I had this goal to get out of here without a leadership responsibility... but I guess it wasn't meant to be. I like this assignment, though, I've gotten to spend a lot of time with the new sisters, who are all utterly fantastic! I love them all so much! We need more sisters in our zone. Out of the thirty-six newbies, only four of them are sisters... Elders are great, but come on. :P

Today Sister Dustin and I have found ourselves utterly alone in our usually crowded residence. Sister Graham is off for Washington on a reassignment, Sister Nash for Brazil, and Sisters Waddell and Streadbeck for Portugal. Sisters Oldroyd and Smith are also off for the Brazil MTC as well! It's really hard to say to goodbye to friends. However, I am so excited for each and every one of them! They are going to do so wonderfully! Sister Dustin and I also like having a clean room finally... 

I am loving teaching! Our investigators are fantastic! We are really making progress with Adriano. He opened up to us so much this week. Our teachers here are wonderful too; we're learning so much about the language, but I think it's time for us to do some more intense English-fasts... I'm never going to get completely comfortable unless I let go of English completely.

This week, I've been thinking a lot about how much God loves every one of us. He is so merciful to us. Being a missionary is so wonderful because we have the beautiful opportunity of sharing this love with other people. We were talking to Adriano yesterday about repentance, and he said, "How can I do all of these great things? Nephi was a prophet; you are missionaries, servants of God. I'm just Adriano." You are never just you. You are a perfectly made, perfectly loved child of God with infinite potential to be so much more than how you see yourself. And Heavenly Father sees it all.

Amo voces muito! Ate mais!

Sister Dickerson

Has it really been a month??

Ola!

Well, to answer my own question, no, it hasn't! But it two days, it will be. To be perfectly honest, I am really ready to leave the MTC. Don't get me wrong, the MTC is great and all, but the schedule does get old. Just two more weeks! I'm expecting to get my travel plans this week, and I think I'll be going straight to Brazil! You can check your visa progress online and mine is all processed! So, I'm super excited. It is so amazing to see the will of God working in my life. Hardly anyone has had their visa processed from the LA consulate; the Lord will put me where He needs me! 

Let's see... as for teaching experiences, this week has given us all the ups and downs we could ask for! Both of our investigators have a lot of serious problems, especially concerning the law of chastity, so we teach that just about every day. However, we have grown in so much love for them, and we have seen the Spirit work on them in so many ways! It's honestly amazing. (Our teachers role play as investigators that they met on their mission. However, as we treat them as real investigators, we are actually able to get a feel for how to truly teach). 

Last night was a sad night in that it was our last lesson with Irmao Machado and our last lesson with Jose. That was hard. We walked out feeling so much love, though, and I couldn't help but see our progress in the progress of our investigators. Irmao Machado has to teach the two incoming districts this week, so we're getting Irmao Sears instead; I'm sure he's great, but we really love Irmao Machado! Change is good for me though... Last night was also hard because about 3/4 of our zone shipped out. Nearly all of the missionaries going to Portugal, Mozambique, and Angola are gone! Also, nearly every missionary in the two districts that came in after us got their visas to Brazil, so they are now at the MTC in Sao Paulo! We're of course excited for them, but it was hard to say goodbye. Most of them left at incredibly early times in the morning. It was adorable--last night we were walking back to our residence with the zone leaders and one of them said, "Elder, do you know what I'm going to say to you at 3:35 AM? I'm going to say, 'What time is it?' and then you're going to say, 'It's 3:35 AM.' Do you know what that means?" They were so excited to get out in the mission field, and they are all going to be great!

On Sunday I was incredibly surprised by being called to give a talk... Considering that the majority of our zone was heading out, that I've already given a lesson and my testimony and prayers in meetings, I thought I was safe for another week. Nope! It went fine though, even though it was terrifying. Portuguese is becoming more natural every day. On Wednesday I got to host new missionaries for the first time! That was fun, meeting so many new people and helping them get a good first impression of the MTC. The only downside was hauling suitcases up flights and flights of stairs. We get to host again tomorrow, so that should be great!

My dear companion, Sister Dustin, has been rather ill all week. Poor girl. Please keep her in your prayers! She's been improving steadily though, and she is such a champ about the whole thing. Her positivity is contagious! We've had lots of glorious moments throughout the week because of it. And lots of embarrassing moments. I don't think they would be as funny if I typed them, though, so I won't bother for now. :) I also found out last P-day that Sister Dustin is utterly AMAZING at playing the flute! She is so talented. I'm making her audition for a musical number this week. She is seriously so great. 

In other news, we have gotten very close to our district, which consists of Sis. Dustin and I and Elders Ploeger, Lewis, and Smart. The Elders might be getting a little too comfortable with us. We were studying outside one day and came in to grab our Portuguese dictionaries. We walked in to find the lights off, the elders sleeping (Elder Smart even had a eye mask on) and the whiteboard covered in pictures of animals! It was a pretty startling and hilarious moment. However, considering that they were just called to be the new zone leaders, I think they'll get a little more focused from now on. 

Anyhow, I'm learning a lot! Every day! I love the people here, and I'm loving the people of Brazil more and more every minute! It's amazing how I am finding more of my weaknesses than I ever have in my life, but I feel so much more hope for change than ever before as well.

This is the scripture we're memorizing in Portuguese as a district this week, Joshua 1:9:

"Be strong and of a good courage, be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest." 

I hope you all have a marvelous week! Love you all!

Sister Dickerson

Half-Way There!

Bom dia!

I'm happy to saw that I am officially half-way through my stay at the MTC! 

Thank you all so much for the outpouring of love I received this week. Your letters were very appreciated! 

Well, where to begin... this week was great! Sister Dustin and I are getting along perfectly, and we are loving teaching together! There were some days that I could hardly keep my eyes open and some days that I could hardly go to sleep. Life is always up and down here! 

I guess I'll go backwards. I just went to the temple today! It's been closed the past two weeks for cleaning, so it was so amazing to finally be able to go and feel the peace and love that permeates those walls. It was amazing. One of the elders in our zone had a stack of family names to do, so all of the sisters were able to do some! It was seriously so great.

Sister Dustin and I are loving the work! Our two investigators, Jose and Vania, and progressing quickly. We love them so much. We asked them to do some really hard things this week, and it has been so incredible to see their faith at work. It's also been amazing to see my own faith grow. Every experience is for our good! On Sunday we spoke a lot about enduring to the end in Relief Society; I was disheartened to hear so many sisters talk about enduring hard trials on their missions and how this life is about experiencing hard things. It's all true, of course, but it is so much more! Happily, by the end we were talking about enjoying to the end, finding joy in the journey, and how our entire purpose is to have joy. I love the gospel!

On Friday we had our first TRC, when we teach members. The two members we taught were return missionaries from Brazil--Mia and Chase. They were so cool! I felt like we talked more than taught... but it was an amazing experience! It also made me think more about this life. Mia expressed concern about all of the awful things going on in this world and how to deal with it. I got to thinking... if there really is opposition in all things, then if some of the worst things are happening today, then some of the best things are happening as well. When we are in the deepest of trials, we can find the deepest joy. Everything has its opposite, and often times its opposite is found right along its side. It's amazing! On Friday we also had the opportunity to watch President Packer's funeral. It was a sad experience, but it was also incredibly enlightening. That man lived an amazing life, and he is still touching people's hearts where he is now. We even got to hear President Monson speak at the funeral--he still looked frail, but he sounded so much more like himself than last conference. That boosted my spirits.

Otherwise, this week has been one of learning and practice. Learning and practicing a lot of Portuguese, teaching skills, and of course, teaching with the Spirit. It's amazing to see how much progress we are making. Sister Dustin and I had a confidence builder yesterday when a new professor from Sao Paulo who doesn't speak much English yet came into the class to chat with us. He spoke faster than any teacher I have ever heard at the MTC yet, but we understood every word! He said he was shocked because the missionaries who are leaving next week couldn't understand him, let alone respond. I'm not trying to boast, if that sounds like boasting. I'm just so extremely grateful that the Lord is helping me communicate in this language! The gift of tongues is so real!

Oh, I have one more fun story. The other day some elders going to Argentina came up to us for some "street contacting." What came next was about a half hour of a half-Portuguese, half-Spanish lesson. It was so fun! What was even better was that we all understood each other! (Most Spanish-speaking missionaries don't pick up any of what we are saying...)

Well, I would love to go on more about all the other little stories of this week, but I'm just about out of time! So here ya go--the highlights. I love you all so much! Have an utterly fantastic week!

Love,

Sister Dickerson

Aprendo Cada Dia

I can hardly believe that another week has gone by! This week was... difficult. I guess that's the best way I can put it. However, I learned so much more because it was difficult! The biggest thing that happened was that my companion, Sister Packard, got her visa, as well as another sister in our district, Sister Sanabria! To be perfectly honest, although I was very excited for the two of them, I was also quite discouraged. I had to say good bye to them this morning, and it was very difficult. I'm really going to miss Sister Packard! She has taught me so much about teaching with the Spirit, carefully preparing, and working diligently all of the time. She's going to love the Brazil MTC though. She said it will be really good for her because then she will have to speak the language all the time. And it will be good! The course of this week has been difficult as I have worrying about my visa... Through prayer, though, I have finally been able to let these worries go and place them in the Lord's hands. It's hard to accept His will, but when I do I am filled with so much more trust and love for Him! (So no one ask me about my visa again--it's not my problem. :P ) But my new companion, Sister Dustin is great!) I have learned a lot about faith and patience this week; the Lord is definitely the greatest teacher.

The Fourth of July was quite an experience here at the MTC! My teacher Irmão Machado, who is from Florianopolis, Brazil, gave us the greatest lesson on appreciating our country and the principles on which it stands. It was so enlightening. We also spent a great deal of time studying about Captain Moroni! There was a special fireside in the evening about bringing the gospel into all the world. The speaker sort of went nearly an hour over... so we all hurried out to the parking lot, watched about five minutes of fireworks, and went to bed late. It was great though! I like getting a nice break from all the stress. 

I have learned so much about teaching this week. It is fantastic! We got a second teacher, Irma Hill, and she's wonderful! Her teaching style is quite different than our other teacher. We have two new investigators, Vania and José, who we taught for the first time yesterday. I have loved seeing the difference in what we prepare and what we actually teach. It is obviously important to prepare as well as we can, but it is even more important to listen to the investigator and the Spirit to know their needs. We had some really tender teaching experiences. And that's the whole point of missionary work, right? It's amazing to see the Spirit work with them, even with our broken Portuguese and help them tell us the desires of their hearts!

Hmm... just for funny experiences (in case you are all bored already), Sister Packard's favorite song is "Ye Elders of Israel," so this whole week has been full of us breaking into deep, manly harmonies while singing that song, much to the surprise of surrounding elders. Sister Sanabria and I have also created a form of communication based solely on facial communication! So now I'm known as that weird sister who can make strange faces... love that... But it's been fun. :) 

I hope you are all doing well! Have the greatest week ever!

Love,

Sister Dickerson