Sept 23, 2013 The Search For The One Lost Sheep

Oi Oi Oi todo mundo!

Goodness gracious, I still don't think I can get over the fact that I am in Nebraska. What in the world. Anyways, once again, so much has happened this past week. So I'll just start off with the best of news; I had my first baptism! Wow what an amazing experience. It was JeanAime, the man I told you guys about last week. The craziest part about it was I was the one who was asked to give him the Gift of the Holy Ghost. That was seriously one of the most nerve racking experiences of my life thus far. At the same time, it was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life thus far. Pronouncing the words "Receive the Holy Ghost" was such a powerful moment. I have never experienced anything else like it. I felt so connected to the spirit as I was giving him the blessing that followed. I know that everything I said came directly from God. It was a testimony to me of many things, especially about the authority of the priesthood. I know that it was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

We even had one of our investigators, Terry, come to see the baptism. It was such a spiritual experience, I'm so grateful that he was able to and wanted to come and see. The change in Jean is so evident that I know that he will want to experience that as well. We even have two of our progressing investigators who want to come and watch General Conference! Wow!

As I've spent the time I have thus far on my mission trying to serve as many people as I can, I have developed a great love for reaching out to less-active and inactive members of the church. President Weston (my mission president) promised us that if we help bring someone back to church and back into the fellowship they once had then the Lord will bless us with new people to share the gospel with. It makes complete sense too. Why would the Lord bless us with the ability to find new people to teach and share the message of the restoration with, if we are not willing to help those who are already in our stewardship? This is expressed so poignantly by the Savior when he said,

What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

(Luke 15:4-7)

This principle is one that we often reference, yet we do not go out and reach out to those who are struggling to maintain their activity in the church. We are promised joy that we cannot comprehend when we do all we can to recover the lost sheep of the fold. It is not very easy, but it is so very worth it. And the best part about it is you don't have to be a missionary to do this either! Think about what would happen in the church if every member reached out to someone who was less-active in the Church. Wards and stakes would grow in attendance, more buildings could be built, more temples even, and then they would in turn reach out to their friends and neighbors so we as missionaries could continue to spread the gospel to every nation, kindred tongue and people.

I've also come to see, even though I am not super great at it, the importance of setting goals and planning effectively. Setting goals drives your work and gives you a focus you could otherwise not achieve. I have always hates writing out schedules because I just don't like being super meticulous about things. Not that I like to just wing things but I like to be open and free with my time. But time on a mission is super precious. I've only been given 2 small years to find, teach and bring God's children to the truth, and every minute is valuable time. You have to plan every moment with prayerful consideration and set goals to help you strive to be the missionary God wants you to be. And once again the cool thing mission life has been showing me, is that you don't have to be a missionary to do these things! The only difference is this is what I do on a daily basis because I have been called and set apart to do so. As Elder Holland said, paraphrasing of course since I can't come close to quoting the man, a mission isn't where you leave real life and then come back to it, this is real life! This is the start of a lifetime of service to God, and there is no better place to learn how to best do it than on a mission.

Well, I'll be seeing everyone around! Send me your love and support please, as much as you can. I love getting letters from people (I'm a missionary we fight for the mailbox duh) so keep on sending them my way. All the way to the middle of nowhere in Nebraska :)

Tchau tchau!

Elder Dimmick