FIRST BAPTISM!!

You guys!!! I had my first baptism yesterday and it was so amazing! The spirit was so strong you could cut it with a knife! We found 9 year old Dixon my first day here and we baptized him and confirmed him yesterday before church! His family are members but were super menos activo before we found them. The parents weren't planning on letting Dixon get baptized because they didn't really have the desire to have a religion anymore. it was seriously a miracle that the baptism went through. It was such a great example for the Garcia family and now they are super involved in church activities. I'm so excited!! He is the cutest little boy in the world and the family is amazing! Yesterday morning Hermana Drollinger and I went up by the families house in Sur Maria to make sure they were ready to go for the baptism.On our way up we passed the mom Catalina coming down the mountain. She looked really worried and really stressed. We stopped to talk to her and ask her what was going on. She explained to us she was super stressed because she hadn't had time to wash some clothes for the family to wear to the baptism and to church. She was on her way to the river at the bottom of the mountain to wash them...but she still had a lot to get done before the servive at 12:30. My comp and I followed her down the mountain to the river and helped her wash all the clothes she had in the buckets and let me know tell you...I know how to wash clothes very quickly in a river now! It's awesome!The bpatism was scheduled for 12:30 because our branch starts at 2. The service didn't actually start till 1:15 and the Elders here in our area were baptizing two people too! It worked out though! The service was great and what a blessing this littlw boy is to his family! His example brought an entire family of 6 all with kids younger than 9 back to the church! This is why i am here!

 Its so hard to explain the conditions I see on a daily basis but seriously you guys... I have never seen poverty this bad! I mean there are families that don’t even have clothes because they have to have money for food!I find myself thinking a lot if I can actually do this because it is soooo hard! I don't know what anyone is saying most of the time so that is tough...but I am getting better! I learned how to make tortillas and gallo pinto already so i can make it for you when I get home! I am doing good though I promise! I am so happy to be here! This is where I need to be. This is where the Lord needs me! I promised him I would do this before I even came to this earth and so that is what I'm gonna do! Kara Dickey doesn't give up! Especially when I have the Lord on my side!

Nicaragua so far is awesome! I'm not gonna lie...it's pretty hard adjusting to this life and trying to learn to speak this language...but there are so many people here with so much potential and I'm not gonna give up on them! The cold showers at 6:30 in the morning sure do wake you up...and so do the 4 roosters next door! There are seriously a ton of roosters, chickens, stray dogs, pigs, cows, donkies, horses EVERYWHERE! oh and bugs...SO MANY BUGS!!! It's all good though! Last night my comp and I killed a cockraoch about the size of my hand last night! It was so gross! The weather here is weird because one minute it´s super hot and sunny, and the next it's cloudy and pouring rain...wierd! The food here is good but it all tastes the same! They sell these things though in the Poperias that taste almost exactly like reeses so that's not good cuz i'm gonna get so fat off of those things! I will do my best to refrain! This week we are hoping to baptize Monica but she has to either get married or dump her boyfriend...we will see! Ergenio decided he wants to be baptized in the Evangelico church soooo ya...that happened! It made me really sad! Nicaragua is great and so is Matagalpa! President Thomas S. Monson once said 'Triumph usaully comes from putting a little more "umph" in your "try". It is so easy to get discouraged when serving a mission but you just have to remember your purpose and why you are here! The Lord will help you! Buenos Suerte con su proximo semena!

Love, Hermana Dickey