Week 18

Happy to hear nothing has changed back home! Yes prayers are always appreciated! Thanks for asking.

I missed the pool closing! Believe it or not it’s actually getting cold here…well like rainy, crazy wind and only in the upper 60's and low 70's, but you know me, I could "freeze up on the middle of the equator". I do miss actual fall though and all the good food. And yes I have been thinking about what I am supposed to learn instead of woe is me. Sometimes I can step-back and look at how much I have grown already, and realize the Lord definitely knows what he is doing. I hope Jillian’s birthday was fun! Grammy sounds the same - I’m happy that she is getting along without her best friend for now - we all know that they'll be together forever!

 

Please don’t be to weirded-out if I am super cheap when I get back home! I’m on a missionary budget, in Taiwan where you can eat 3 BIG meals for under 200 kuai, little over 6$. This place is brother Nixon’s paradise. Everyone rides scooters, everything is super cheap, except dairy, but he is lactose intolerant so he's set.

 

Ha ha it’s so cute that you all think I know stuff about how a skype call to home will work at Christmas already. I doubt if I'll even know Christmas Eve - It'll work though! I'll just ask my companion, whoever it is at the time. Never fear though, I live with the zone leaders so I can just hit them up with questions as I am still am in Taidong.

On-the-rocks - for Pday


So crazy things happened this week. Remember in the movie Waterboy, when the coach starts making crazy plays? And he has that one where basically everyone becomes a receiver except the quarterback? President Day has just called that play… We got a text last Thursday saying that President Day would be sending 28 missionaries from other parts of the mission to Hualian and Taidong. Meaning we will have 14 extra missionaries this next week in Taidong, for what he is calling a "missionary tsunami" and power finding activity this week. Literally all everyone will do is wake up, eat, go out and find all day each day. He's never done anything like this before, but what he wants is us to reach our goal of 100 new members by the end of the year in each branch. So I suggested we get every available power on our side and start with a fast. Crazy miracles are already happening. We had one young man show up to church and we found out he wasn’t a member but some of his family is, so we set a date, and are now meeting with him. Elder Sullivan and Elder Keime had their first new member down in Taidong last night, and the boys entire family came uncles, aunts, ama's and agongs too! (grandma and grandpa). We also had the thought after meeting with the boy - what other families are we missing here in Taidong? We thought of all the families who are part member families where the husband/father are not members. If we tried to start meeting with them we could have lessons in their homes where the Spirit is super strong. We would have instant friends in the church that would be willing to work with them, not to mention when they become members they'll at some point become priesthood holders, which would not only strengthen their family, but strengthen the branch, and allow it grow like President Day wants. So that is our plan and we hope and pray it works.


That View!

Also today I have cake mix. What is the recipe for my favorite cake mix crinkle cookies? Can you send it to me?  Can you believe I have been gone for over 4 months now?

I’m done with phase one training so I was able to start learning other vocabulary. It feels like the heavens have opened - I'm already understanding more I hear, and I have only learned 35 new words so far.

Hope Mom is getting ready for the Halloween dinner - be sure to send pictures next week!

Hope all is well and that you are all healthy too! I miss you all and love you all very much!

Elder Dickson