Hey everyone!!! So today we had changes...and I was really hoping I would be able to stay in Los Laureles for one more change at least...because I will be 20 years old at the end of this change and I wanted to be with people I really knew...but alas...God works in mysterious ways! I packed my bags last night and today I am in a new area called Bello Horizonte...but wait for it...I have been assigned to be the sister AP! President Collado called me on saturday to tell me and I will be completely honest...I was not expecting that at all! My companions name is Hermana Reyes from El Salvador and she is amazing!! I am going to learn so much from her! I am really excited for this opportunity, to get to know all of the Hermanas in the mission and to learn more from President...and most importantly...to feel even closer to my Father in Heaven.

Not much to report otherwise. Tomorrow we have a meeting with President in the morning and then we will be welcoming all of the new missionaries at the mission home and then we will have another meeting until the late afternoon...Wednesday more meetings all day and thursday as well...and then FINALLY by friday and saturday I will get to work in my area! 

Sorry its short this week but I hope everyone is doing well and working hard! 

Hermana Dickey

Hey everyone I hope is was another fantastic week for all of you!!! By the way shout out to the Clackamas Cavs for going 3-0!! I just got excited reading the letter from my dad about the game on Friday night! I can't enjoy football season this year so keep me updated folks! Haha! Anyways...

This wee was a great one for me! I was stuck at home all day on tuesday because I got SUPER sick to my stomach... not sure how, but it doesn't matter because the rest of the week was amazing! We had a baptism planned for saturday last week...but when we passed by for the young man that was to be baptized on wednesday, we caught him drinking again...so needless to say he wasn't baptized. But I know someday his day will come! At least we were able to plant the seed! But the miracle of the week was that we were able to baptize a man who we have been visiting since June! He had a fecha in june but it fell because he didn't "feel prepared". We left him for a while and visited occasionaly just to keep him updated with reading in the Book of Mormon and praying with his wife. His wife is a member and they had one 2 year old daughter at the time...now just a week ago she had there second. On wednesday we decided to pass by for Antonio to see how he and his wife were doing. Knowing that our fecha for that weeked fell we went to his house hoping for a miracle that he would accept a fecha for that weekend (saturday). We showed up at his nouse and before we even said the opening prayer he said " Hermanas I am ready to be baptized"!!! Ummmm What! Ok ya man lets go the Pila is already full!! No I didn't really say that...but I was so excited!! My testimony grew so much of how the Lord really does prepare people as long as they are keeping commitments and ding their part. Antonio was baptized on friday, two days later and then confirmed in church yesterday.I was so excited for him and his family! Now all him and His wife talk about are how now they want to start preparing to go to the temple. I just love this Gospel! Seeig the look on someones face that you have been teaching and helping progress as they come out of the water is nothing like you will ever see! There is't even room in my heart to express the joy I feel in every single baptism I have seen. Families really are Eternal.

Not much else to report this week! We have cambios on moday and I have no idea what is going to happen. I am really hoping I get to stay in my area...but like Nefi says "I will go, I will do the things the Lord commands". Wherever he needs me I will go!

I hope you all have a great week and stay safe!

Hermana Dickey

COCKROACHES..... Again!

I will NEVER get used to big bugs!!! When I sent in my mission papers and everyone asked me where I thought I would go or even where I wanted to go...my response was always...just somewhere where there aren't big bugs!!! Well then I got sent to Nicaragua and saw a cocroach for the first time and thought...ok this is just Heavenly Father helping me overcome my fear of big bugs since I kinda have no choice but to live with it...well folks I don't think Hermana Dickey will EVER accept big bugs EVER!!! I can't even kill them!

The other day my companion and I got home at 9:30 super tired and just ready to go to bed! We planned and talked about what went well in the day and what we can work more on and then we finished and I was still swaeting my brains out...even at 9:30 at night...so before bed  I thought I would take a shower because hot water does not exsist here! So I pull back the curtain of the shower to make sure there were no bugs crawling around on the walls or the floor before I got in...to my luck there was nothing there. So I proceed to take my nice cold shower. No sooner did I put shampoo in my hair I look dwn before I rinse it out and see a HUGE cocroach climbing up the wall! I pulled back the curtain, grabbed my towel and ran out of the bathroom faster than I ever ran any of my track races! The whole time screaming and still soaking wet with shampoo still in my hair! My comp just starts cracking up and there I am dripping wet! I told her she had to go kill it because I could not do it! She grabbed her shoe...pulled back the curtain and all I hear her say...WOW that is HUGE!!! and then...WHACK!!! And that was that! I continued to shower but I just have a fear everytime I pull back that dumb shower curtain now! I know I sound like a total wimp people...but I just can not handle big bugs!

Anyways this week was pretty good! We lost a few of some really cool investigadors which made me very sad and quite frankly dissappointed...but that happens and you just have to keep finding those who the Lord has prepared for you! I got to work with one of the AP's on saturday and It was so great! I learned a lot from her and I am really excited to put in practice some of the things I learned! I love this Gospel with my whole heart! There is no doubt that this is the true Gospel of Jesuscristo and everytime I get to share my testimony of His love and His atoning sacrifice I feel my faith growing and getting stronger and stronger. You all know the Primary song...A wise man biult his house upon a rock...I think of that song a lot and how it is related to missionary work. If we can begin with a sure foundation on the rock of salvation we will NEVER come tumbling down because of our trust and our faith in Him!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Hermana Dickey

Hola!!

Well everyone it was yet another great week! It was busy but really awesome! We saw a ton of miracles in the work and on Saturday we had the amazing opportunity to have President Nelson from the quorum of the 12 Apostles here! Let me just tell you all how that went...

On saturday morning our whole zone had to meet at the stake center in Villa Flor at 5am to leave for the Capilla in Altacracia where the meeting would be held by 6am. My companion and I got up at 3am to be ready to go and be in villa flor on time. Eventually the whole zone arrived and we left! We got to Altacracia and there were already a ton of missionaries there waiting to get a front row seat...I don't blame them! Lucky for me I already had a seat reaserved in the Very front row because I was directing the choir! My companion got to sit with me too! I have Never been so close to an Apostle before! It was so cool! We waited and waited and waited for President Nelson to arrive and finally at 9am he arrived! We all stood up as he wlaked in the door and he was so cute! He had a huge smile on his face and said hello to us as he made his way to the pulpit. Then he wanted to shake EVERY SINGLE MISSIONARIES HAND so one by one in an orderly fashion every single missionary form the North and South mission got to shake his hand! Yes people I shook an Apostles hand! That beat any Taylor Swift concert by a long shot! After we sat down the meeting really started and the Choir was first! I was so nervous but it eneded up sounding really good and President Nelson said it was the best Missionary Choir he had heard! I was feeling pretty good about that! He then gave his remarks on the the importance of missionary work and out of all of the messages I have heard on theat subject this ne hit me the most! He talkd about how we are in the last days...we are saints of the last days and that the work of the Lord has never been as important as it is now. He told us that as missionaries in these days we were reserved for this time in our lives. When we lived with our Father in Heaven he saved us for this time to come and preach His Gospel because he trusts in us and confides in us! I never thought about that before or in that way...but how great of a blessing is that! He also talked about the time when him and Richard G. scott came to Nicaragua 25 years ago to dedicate the entire country of Nicaragua for Missionary work. 25 years isn't that long!

One of my favorite quotes he said was "We do our best and the Lord does the rest". As missionaries, following the guidance of the spirit is the way to true conversion.

I love this country and most importantly I love this work! I always knew that missionary work was a very important thing...thats why I'm here! But I now have a new perspective of it and how importnant it is for ME individually and how our Father in Heaven knows each and everyone of us personally...member or nonmember! One thing that the people say here when we comit them to church or to pray and read the Book of Mormon is "Si Dios quiere" (If God wants) and it makes me laugh everytime becuase of course God wants you to comitt to the things we ask you to do because we don't comit people to the comittments we as missionaries give...we give comittments that God gives...so Claro que si Dios quiere! Haha! I love it so much!

I hope you all had a wonderful week and that this week will be even better! Words of wisdom from President Nelson..."Why would people want to be like us if we are grumpy"! We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! Lets show it!

Hermana Dickey