What a week! My companion and I worked harder than we ever have this week and let me tell you it payed off! This weekend we planned to have one baptism and we knew it was for sure going to happen...but our mission had a goal to baptize at least 90 people in the month of June and in the whole mission we had 89 that were baptized or were going to be baptized. With our one seguro baptism on saturday Yojanna was part of that 89 but we needed just one more person. On tuesday we were walking in the street when I heard someone yell out "Hermanas"!! I turned around to see who it was thinking it was a member or someone I knew...but it wasn't. There was a young woman sitting on the sidewalk talking to her friend...she said "are you guys mormon missionaries"? I got really excited becuase you never have someone contact you in the street. I immediately said yes we are missionaries of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. She continued to explain to us that about 2 years ago elders that were in our area before were teaching her, but she moved to an area that didn't have missionaries before she could be baptized. Her name is Roxanna and she had already had all of the lessons and had been to church and to church activities many many times....she just needed to be baptized! How Crazy is that! We visited her every day and put a fecha to be baptized on saturday. So we had TWO baptisms on saturday reaching the goal in the mission of 90 baptisms in the month of June! My comp and I were pretty excited. That's why this week may have been tough...but it was totally worth it! I would send pictures but I am afraid to put my memory into the computer because last week when I did...the computer shut down and deleted all of my pictures on my camera...of the mtc and matagalpa...all of it! I don't want to lose anymore! 5 months of my mission is enough! I hope everyone is dong well and staying safe! Happy Summer Vacation!!!

Hermana Dickey

5 month mark!!

Well yesterday was my 5 month mark and I literally can`t believe how fast the time is going by! It seems like just yesterday I was starting my first semester at BYUI...now I`m 5 months into my mission! Can we please slow things down here a bit!!! This weekend we baptized a man named Ernesto and it was so great! He was so excited and all week leading up to his baptism he kept calling us asking what time we were gonna stop by for his house and help him be more prepared to be "Baptized in the name of God"! That`s what he always said! Well saturday afternoon Ernesto was baptized by probably one of the smallest Elders we have in the mission...and let me tell you Ernesto is not a tiny man! haha! It was actually kinda funny to watch! The spirit was so strong in the baptism and I was so grateful for the reverence in the room because that makes all the difference...especially when you have other investigators there watching. I am happy to report that the rain has finally stopped (knock on wood) and now its just really hot! The weather can`t seem to make up its mind!

My companion is still struggling a little and I am not gonna lie, I am running out of ideas to keep her motivated! The mission is fun...but at the same time its a lot of work and sometimes you just have to buckle down and do it! I think she is trying to get the hang of that part still. The good part is that we are having success! I am getting more used to the mission now and my spanish is SO MUCH BETTER!! It is amazing how much easier life becomes when you can communicate with people! Haha! My spanish is definitely not perfect and I still don't understand everything...but at least it's better! This week my comp and I discovered an amazing fruit called Mamones and they are so good and so cheap! They are really small but really good! I hope they aren't bad for you because I will get really fat off them if they aren't! I mean its a fruit right? I hope everyone has a great week this week! Summer has started so stay safe and don't have to much fun without me!

Hermana Dickey

Soy Nica....

1.. When your alarm goes of at 6;30...you roll over to turn it off and touch a huge cockroach sitting on the alarm button...for real people that happened! I though I was gonna die! Needless to say that cockroach is no longer living! R.I.P mr. Cockroach!

I promise President, I didn't go swimming on purpose.....

Well this week was an interesting one...not gonna lie! We had a baptism planned for saturday and unfortunately it fell through...it´s amazing to me how much harder satan works on people when they are about to do something really great in their life! We are still working with him though and the good news is he still wants to be baptized, we just need to clear some things up first! Also it has rained every single day here and it usually starts around 4 pm and goes till about 3 am! I would know because a tin roof and rain don`t really mix well! Haha! On thursday night we had a HUGE rain storm here and it got so bad that our ZL´s called us and told us to go home or find the nearest members house because it was to dangerous to be out in the streets. That day we were in the house by 7 pm which I hated because we had a lot of appts. that night that we missed! I have never seen or been in rain like that before in my life though and that´s sayin´ something because I am from Oregon! We were actually in a cita when the ZL called me and we were close to the house so after we left the house of our investigator we slowly made our way to the house. I was amazed at how quickly the streets filled with water. They were literally rivers...with a current and everything! My comp and I waided our way to the house in water that came just below my knees! It was insane! Thank goodness for Crocs once again! They may be ugly but boy are they life savers!

So needless to say thursday night was pretty lame...but we were safe and dry so that´s good at least. On friday morning we woke up and I had a text on my phone from some elders in our zone that are in an area called Rene Palonko. They had an investigator named Junior who was 13 years old and he was the coolest little kid you would ever meet! He loved the missionaries and when we had our stake conference a couple weeks ago he told all of us that he wanted to be a missionary when he got older! he also had a fecha to be baptized this last saturday! Well on thursday night during the rain storm he was on his way home from the market because he was out buying rice and beans for dinner for his family. He took their horse and cart with him so he could get all of the food home. As he was on his way home the horse got caught in the current in the street and fell over...and so did Junior. The current took him away and swept him into the ditch on the side of the road. The text I got on friday morning was to tell us that Junior had passed away in the rain storm on thursday night...two days before his baptism and that we needed to all be at his funeral on saturday to sing hymns. That was the most devastating text I have ever gotten! On saturday morning the whole zone went to the funeral of Junior and sang hymns. I can´t even put into words how aweful that was! Trying to sing at a funeral of anyone is really hard...but of Junior....

I know that Junior is in a better place and that his death happened for a reason. He said he wanted to be a missionary and I know he is already doing a great work with our Father in Heaven!

I love this Gospel so much! I know that we are all individually loved by our Father in Heaven and he knows each and every one of us personally. Everyday is a new day and I have learned on the mission that life just keeps going. There is no pause button or rewind! Live everyday to the fullest! I hope this week is the best week yet for all of you!

Love, Hermana Dickey

          No more rice and beans please!

Well this week has been really great and my comp and I had a lot of success! We committed a lot of our investigators to baptism this week and it's looking like the month of June is going to be a success! I love my new area and I am loving being a trainer...but I am not going to lie it's definitely not easy since I am still trying to figure some things out too...like the language for example! Haha! but I am really grateful for the opportunity because my faith in my Father in Heaven has grown 10 fold since I started this transfer. I chose "no more rice and beans" for the title of my email because literally...I don't know if I will last a whole year eating gallo pinto and chicken every meal. The members here are SUPER nice and always offer us food and pepsi or coke when we visit, but I have gained weight so quick and a hour of running every morning just isn't cutting it! Haha! I have to figure out something to do or none of you will recognize me when I get home! I guess the good thing is I don't ever have to worry about what to eat right? 

Sometimes as the week goes on, as it gets closer to sunday and to p-day, everything seems so much harder and I think it's just because we get tired. My comp had a rough week this week trying to stay motivated and I definitely understood because that's how I was when I first got here. But you just have to keep going and always remember who you are, what you are doing and who you represent. I tried to remind her of that everyday but it didn't seem to help...so I made up a game to play at night to keep her motivated and so that we would work harder. At night when you pass by people or when you contact families you say "Buenas Noches" to get their attention right! Well I told my comp one night that we were going to have a contest to see who could get the most people to talk to us. I told her instead of saying "Buenas Noches" when you pass by someone to say "Vende Coches" (I sell cars). When you say Vende Coches fast it sounds like buenas noches. I told her we were going to see who could get the most people to respond with buenas noches by saying vende coches. Not gonna lie it worked really well and we contacted more people that one night than we ever have any other night.It was also really funny and was motivational for my comp! Sometimes you have to do some crazy things to get the work done! Also this week I told my comp that we are going to focus on contacting people with cars so they have no excuse not to come to church! Haha! We will see how that goes!

So long story short I am doing really well and loving being a missionary! I definitely do not regret the decision I made to come on a mission. Everyday I learn something new and come closer to my Father in Heaven. I am very grateful to live in a house with water and light...and less cocroaches and I am grateful for the rainy season of Nicaragua...it's so much nicer during the day when it rains! I am so grateful for all of you and your support for me. Time is flying by so fast and I plan to make the next 13 months of my mission worth every second! Good luck this week and don't eat to many rice and beans or you'll have to figure out how to lose it just like I am!

Soy Nica....

1) When you are in the middle of inviting someone to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized, when a lizard falls from the cieling onto your lap! Ya I definitely freaked out! I'd like you all to picture that experience in your heads! Haha!

Well this has probably been the craziest week of my mission so far...which is actually saying something since I am going on 5 months in the mission. Tuesday was my first real day of work and training here in Villa Flor and I had no idea what I was doing! I didn't know the area AT ALL and obviously neither did my comp...all I can say is thank goodness for the Area Books and for the wonderful missionaries that were here before me to keep it updated. We worked really hard tuesday and taught so many lessons! People here are very receptive to hear the Gospel...the only challenge is discerning whether they are positive or not. On a daily basis we get about 10 lessons taught which is really good! Our mission president decided to throw a curve ball to all of the missionaries this week...he sent us all a message on wednesday with a list of goals that we had to complete...meaning a goal of how many lessons we taught, how many families we contacted in the street, how many members we brought to lessons...and so on. I was super stressed out when I got the message because I knew if we didn't meet the goals...and more...president was not going to be happy! So I worked harder than I ever have before this week and....we had A LOT of success! President sent me a message last night congratulating me for the work we did this week and it literally made my day! I was stressing out all week! This weekend we have a baptism planned for a family...but they have to be married first so I am really praying hard that all will work out! I know it will!

On tuesday night when my comp and I got home from working all day...we planned and wrote in our journals like we always do and then we got ready for bed. Like always I put my pajamas on, said my prayer and went to bed. My comp on the other hand...she changed out of her "Working skirt" into her "Pajamas skirt"! haha! I told her that we are allowed to wear shorts or something when we go to bed and that we only have to wear our skirts when we go out in public...but she insisted that she always wears a skirt...so needless to say Pajama skirts are the new thing I guess! I literally love her with my whole heart! She is so excited to be a missionary and to work hard! She is a huge example to me and I am grateful for her willingness to put her whole heart and soul into the work of the Lord because it makes it easier on me! 

Villa Flor is AWESOME! I am in the same district as my comp Hermana Humphreys from the MTC which is so awesome because I get to go on divisions with her! The only thing I don't like is that literally every house you go to...they offer you gallopinto and Soda...and when you say no thank you they get really offended! I am going to gain so much weight here! Thank goodness my comp likes to run with me! I am so excited to be a missionary and I know if the mission keeps working as hard as we are...Nicaragua will see a temple really soon! I hope everyone has a great week this week! For all those who are finishing the school year and preparing for finals...SI SE PUEDE!!!

Hermana Dickey