Aug 23, 2013 Surviving the MTC

Oi!

Holy super wow, I am halfway through my stay at the MTC. Things are going both well and not so well. Not that anything is bad, but that this is a very intense time in my life. Mission life (I don't even think the MTC is any indicator of real mission life though) is tough on you. Even with getting 8 hours of sleep you still feel exhausted when you wake up because your mind is hammered through hours of language study and even more hours of personal study. What a blessing that we have to be able to read the Book of Mormon! Every time I read it I feel of the spirit of the Lord. I have a reading schedule planned out to where I can finish the last chapter next Friday in the Temple. I can't wait for that moment. Somehow even without reaching that point and doing what Moroni says and praying to know the truth of it, I just know that I will receive a confirmation of the divinity of that holy book. Seriously, if you have never read the Book of Mormon all the way through, or if you have not read it in a long time from cover to cover, do it. Just read the Book and you will have a life changing experience. I know I have. I have felt the spirit every time I testify of it's divinity to my investigators. It truly is the word of God. 

This past week we had Richard J Maynes of the presidency of the Seventy come and speak to us on Tuesday for devotional. Wow what a night! He talked about how as missionaries we have to live the purpose, not just memorize it. What an important message. we really do have to do that! It's not enough to just say that we are here to bring people to Christ, you have to live in such a way as to always have the spirit with you, and then never be afraid to open your mouth and speak the gospel to anyone. This great work will go until, as it says in the scriptures, everyone has heard the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He really is our Master, our Lord and the Prince of Peace. 

Yesterday I had a very interesting experience. As a district we decided to spend a day fasting, both from English and from food and water. That was a very intense struggle, mostly on the part of not speaking English. Most of the day I was grumbling and complaining about not only my hunger from the fast but from the fact that I couldn't express my thoughts! That is a very hard and scary experience to go through; to have what you want to say on the tip of your tongue, and then realize you don't know the vocabulary or methods of conjugation. Yet in the midst of this experience, and when I basically thought that I was not going to learn something, I had a powerful spiritual experience. I realized that we are truly nothing without the Lord. He upholds us and strengthens us in everything we do, not just in spiritual things. If we have faith and believe that he truly is the Son of God, ALL things are possible. I was reading this week in my Book of Mormon and I was at the end of Alma and Helaman, and it was where the Nephites are at war with the Lamanites. Normally I would just brush through this section thinking that you could not learn anything from them, but that is so not true! As it says, the Nephites only had success when they remembered the Lord and were obedient to his commandments. When they didn't recognize the Lord's hand in all things and disobeyed his commandments, they were left to their own strength and they didn't receive the divine help they needed. I realized the same thing! I was called to preach the gospel to those who are seeking for the truth, not to learn Portuguese. All my call letter says about Portuguese is that I will prepare in that language, not that I have to be fluent. When you teach by the spirit, and recognize your need of the Lord's help, then the words will come to your remembrance and you will be able to teach with the power and authority of God. That is why we fast in this great church, to recognize our dependence on our Savior to give us not only spiritual strength but temporal strength as well. 

Well, got to go for now! May God be with you as you try to diligently serve him and remember him!

Tchau tchau

Elder Dimmick

Aug 16, 2013 The Love of God

Olá meus amigos!

 

Tudo bem? Eu estou amando a CTM! A missão é dificil trabalho mas ela é muito aterrador. Okay that's enough Portuguese for now, the real thing to say is HOLY WOW! I've been a misionary for 10 days now and it feels like I just got here yesterday. So much has happened I don't know where to begin. Well for starters I should say who my very first companion is. His name is Elder McKinlay and he is most recently from Omaha but he grew up in Chicago and Louisville. He is a pretty sweet companion too, we are bonding well and we teach well together. Speaking of teaching, on my third day here we had to teach a lesson! Ahh it was so nerve racking because we could only speak in Portuguese! Não falando inglés, somente português! That's pretty much how everything works here at the MTC. The quickest way to fluency is to speak it all the time. I've gotten to the point where I can pray, bear testimony and hold basic (muito muito básico) conversations in portuguese.

 

Speaking of learning, I have learned so much in just a week it is amazing. I have learned more about myself and who I am, as well as more about the gospel than any point in my life. The first few days here was a very trying time for me. When I got here I was instantly humbled. I felt that all I needed to do here was learn a language and that was it. Boy was I wrong! I was shown that before I can bring others to the knowledge of the restored gospel I have to be truly converted to it myself. One of the biggest things stressed here at the MTC is that you have to feel and tech by the Spirit or you will not be successful in bringing people to Christ. This was difficult for me. I had never really had a huge spiritual moment I felt when I knew the gospel and he church were true. I felt that I didn't have the faith necessary to be successful. So Thursday evening I was on my knees and I prayed to my Heavenly Father harder than I have ever done in my life. I begged to know that there truly is a God, and that I could feel the spirit touch my heart. In my moment of desperation when I felt that the spirit would not confirm to me the truth of the message that I claim to be true, I remembered something about how I feel the spirit in  my life. The Holy Ghost touches our lives differently, it is not the same for everyone. I had been basing my spiritual experiences on someone elses way of feeling the spirit. for some, it is a gentle feeling inside your heart, or a peaceful feeling. For me the spirit clears my mind, and everything will just make sense to me. As soon as I remembered this, my mind became instantly clear, and I no longer had a doubt of the existence of God. I felt the love of a Father in Heaven come upon me so much that I literally started to shake as I was kneeling in prayer. From that experience, as well as many other witnesses this week and in my life, I can say this: I know that God lives. I know that he is our Heavenly Father who loves us far beyond our human comprehension of the feeling. I know that his son, Jesus Christ, truly is our Savior and the Savior if this world. I know that by coming unto him we can experience more joy and happiness than we could ever imagine on our own. He has restored his gospel on the earth today, and I know without a doubt that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints contains the fullness of the Gospel of Christ. He is real. He lived on this earth, was crucified, and was resurrected. I know that he loves us so much that anyone who will humble themselves before him will find peace in this life. I know that the Holy Ghost, who confirms all truth in our souls, will confirm the truth of this through sincere prayer and a desire to know the truth.

 

Well everyone that is all the time I have for today. Seriously, send me your love through emails and letters. It keeps me going everyday, you don't even realize how much it makes my day.

 

Tchau tchau!

 

Elder Dimmick