WHOA We're halfway there!!!

Hola familia y amigos!

This week has been yet another great week! Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE being a Missionary...because if not...I DO, I REEEALLY DO (read in the voice of Nacho Libre). My District is so awesome and we are so close now that we have all these little inside jokes and it's so fun to just relax a little bit and have some fun during class. There is always one block during the day when we have class for 5 hours straight and towards the end it can be hard to really focus...so that's when our craziness comes out a little. Usually during our gym time my comp and I work out and then play four square with the rest of our zone for the rest of the time. I have been reigned the four square champ now and EVERYONE goes for Hermana Dickey...it's actually really funny! The other day our district leader Elder Rich, told everyone before gym that whoever can get Hermana Dickey out first gets a candy bar of there choice from him! People are starting to make bets now...it's so funny! Now that I have been here for about 4 weeks my comp and I have 3 investigators that we teach. 2 of them are actually my teachers who are just pretending to be investigators and the other one is an actual investigator. Her name is Maria and she is a really tough person to teach. We have been teaching her for about 3 weeks now and we just found out in our lesson yesterday that this whole time she has been lieing to us about reading the BOM and doesn't really believe that it's true and doesn't believe that God actually exists...ummm...WHAT DO I DO WITH THAT!!! This whole time we thought she was progressing so we have been progressing in our lesson plan, when really we should have been and could have been focusing on the fact that she is a Daughter of God and that there is a God. I'm not really sure what we are going to do now, but my teachers have given us some really good advice about where to go with her. The hardest part about being here has been teaching Maria..but I know we can get through to her. The language is actually coming along really well. The second day I was here we taught our very first lesson in spanish and my comp and I literally wrote out word-for-word in spanish what we were going to say because neither of us had any idea how to teach a lesson in a different language. Now, 4 weeks later, my comp and I pray and ask for guidance in what we should teach our investigators, find some scriptures to back up our knowledge and then go in and teach 30-45 min lessons all in spanish. I'm definitely not saying that I can SPEAK spanish like it's my first language, but I can TEACH lessons in Spanish like it's my first language...and do you wanna know why? The Holy Ghost makes up the difference. Missionaries are taught to teach by the power of the spirit not only in words but in actions and I know without a doubt that without the spirit in our lessons, none of our investigators would be progressing because my comp and I wouldn't know how to communicate anything meaningful! I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!!!

Yesterday I auditioned to sing in one of the devotionals that we have here every tuesday and sunday nights. The presidency here told me they loved my song and they want to wait and schedule me for a Sunday Night devotional when a General Authority comes! HOW COOL IS THAT!!! I'm so nervous now, but what an honor and what a compliment it is that they want me to sing during a General Authority devotional. I think i'm going to practice every day just so I KNOW I won't mess up! I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and best of luck next week! Remember...Be on the wall like Samuel the Lamanite and never forget 'La Lucha es Real"!

Buenos Suerte, Hermana Dickey

The Best Week Ever part 2:
This week has been super tough, but SO great! I know I said that last week was the best week ever, but this week was definitely amazing! To be completely honest, I don't believe in good weeks or bad weeks, or for that matter good days and bad days. For me every week will be a good week and every day will be a great day! Yes there are days and weeks that come with VERY hard challenges and yes they definitely come with discouragement and disappointment, but everyday is a new day. I wake up every morning and think "How lucky am I to be a missionary". How lucky am I to be worthy enough to stand as a representative of Jesus Christ and to wear is His name on my shirt everywhere I go. I know without a doubt that this IS the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world and He is always with us, to bear us up in difficult times. In the Book of Mormon it speaks about a prophet named Samuel the Lamanite who preached the gospel to the Nephites in the city of Zarahemla. He preached to them of repentance for many days, but was soon cast out of the city. As Samuel was about to return to his own land, the voice of the Lord spoke to Samuel. In Helaman chapter 13:3 is says " But behold, the voice of the Lord came unto him, that he should return again, and prophesy unto the people whatsoever things should come into his heart." Samuel the Lamanite obeyed the prompting of the Lord and went back to Zarahemla. Because he had already been cast out of the city, he stood fearlessly on the city wall and prophesied unto the Nephites everything that came into his heart from the Lord, all while being mocked, stoned, and persecuted. I want to be like Samuel the Lamanaite. I know that there will be times out in the field when I will be mocked and there will be times when others will deny my testimony of Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of this Gospel, but I WILL NOT feel discouraged. I know that what I will be teaching to the people of Nicaragua is true. When I get doors slammed in my face or someone tries to tell me that my testimony isn't true, I am going to stand on the wall with Samuel the Lamanite. I WILL preach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ no matter what because I have faith that my testimony is true. NO ONE can take that away from me. I told this story to my zone this week and told them that we can all be like samuel the Lamanite and stand on the wall with him and preach the gospel no matter what kinds of persecutions get thrown in our faces. The new motto in our Zone now is "Be on the Wall". Stand beside Samuel the Lamanite and speak from the heart and don't EVER let others get you to deny your testimony!

On a lighter note Haha! I LOVE the MTC! I am learning so much spanish and my lessons with Carlos, Maria and SURPRISE....a third investigator named Ayde, are going really well. Spanish os becoming more fliud for me to speak and is really helpful in lessons now! We don't script out lessons as much anymore and just try and speak what we already know! The spirit is stronger in our lessons now because of that! My comp Hermana Humpherys is AMAZING! She has become my best friend! We quote Nacho libre all day long and it's so funny! We are both praying that we get to be comps in the field because we have so much fun together...and...we're both gringas haha! I hope all is well at home. I miss you all so much and I keep you in my prayers everyday! Don't forget...BE ON THE WALL!!

Love Hermana Dickey