Moved to Coolidge 2.2.15

I am in a little town named Coolidge. Probably the size of Orangeville, Castle Dale, and Huntington combined. The people are way more humble here! The first day I was here we got a new investigator that was very interested. It is like not even a ward. Like maybe.....80 at church. Ha! I am a companion with Elder Johnson. There are a lot of Spanish and blacks here. It is way cool!! Humble and willing to listen just noncommittal.

The area is pretty spread out so we have car. That is super nice. And the people here are a lot more humble. It is super nice! The Lord really has blessed me!

Coolidge is 15 miles-ish from Casa Grande. There is a little more Spanish, but we live with a Spanish elder, so if we find anyone that only speaks Spanish we give them to him.

You could say that yesterday was a little unproductive. The Super Bowl was playing in every trailer so no one wanted to talk. But we did stop a at few people’s houses and got to see the score a few times. (The Lord knows me).

The main part of Coolidge is....well.....not the most well kept.. And the outskirts of it are...well… trash. Ha! There are a lot of trailers, and drugs run rampant. So basically perfect for missionary work!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And ONLY for missionary work.

But I am white washing into the area right now, so that was a little rough! But it is not that bad. I am so glad we have ipads! So that we can have maps and stuff like that… and we could talk to the missionaries that just left the area. When we have question or whatever. It is so nice!

Sorry for the short email, but I gtg. The last thing I have to say it that this church is so true. We have a Savior that loves us and has given us a prophet now days to guide us. And God promises that the prophet will not lead us away. This church is true and follows the Bible more than any other church possibly could… because we are lead by Jesus Christ. He leads us and he will come off conqueror in the last day. Stay close with him. Read His word and follow him. I know that only by Christ, man can be saved. There is no other name under the heavens that man can be saved. This is Christ’s church!!!!!!! I am so blessed to be a representative of our Lord Jesus Christ and bring hope to those who are at rock bottom and don’t know where to turn!

Love this church!

Elder Dawes

White Wash the Area 1.26.15

Yes. YES! YES! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!! So that is pretty awesome!!! Well, other than the flat balls… I don’t know if that could get any better! Haha! The ward members know that I love football so they keep me pretty informed of the sports world ha:)

Meg, you should go through my stuff and pick out my “DAWES 39 Patriots Jersey” and wear it to school a few times… and Nancy too! Ha! I think I need some Patriots apparel to support my team! Ha! I leave and they go to the super bowl........in my state...................what????

The work is picking up. The ZL recommended that we white washed the area. it is super weird. President Toone was super busy last week, so we won’t get transfer calls until tomorrow night. So that is super inconvenient! But we are pretty sure that we are both leaving.

I have a lot of mixed feeling about that. We were finally able to meet with Robert again after a month. I gave him my number for my iPad so I can talk with him wherever I am on my mission! That will be nice! He is having a tough time right now. He is picking up all the little jobs he can work just to pay for rent and the basics that you need! I sure am grateful that I was able to meet him!!! There is just so much that I can see the Lord helping me with!

I will be writing back a letter today. Ha! I like the stamps! Ha! Things are all good over here in AZ! (And I can’t believe that I have been out 6 months already! So slow of days…. but so fast weeks and months! Crazy!

Love you all, 

Elder Dawes

Climbing the "Mountain" 1.19.20

Well, I am on my iPad today because it's Martin Luther King Day so you might get a lot longer letter than normal. Plus, I'm not able to send it out to the family for some reason because the family thing on my iPad is not working. So I'm just sending it to you three… so if you could disburse this letter it would be great. 

Transfers will be next week and it's going to be crazy. Super cool experience, though. We were at church at one of the wards and a nonmember and his second wife just decided to show up. We have never seen them before. They live like right across the street from the church. I talked to him for the two hours and their five-year-old boy had a really good time in primary.  He learned about Jesus and he really liked the treats, but it was super cool. And then we asked them if they would like to have us stop by and get to know them a little bit more, and probably teach them. They were totally cool with that. I handed him my iPad and he just put all of his information in; his Social Security number, credit card number, everything you need….just kidding. But I think it will be a really great opportunity, of course. 

Things are starting to pick up right before transfers, so I bet I'll be getting transferred because things are going to pick up after six months. 

Yesterday, we stopped by this inactive lady that we’ve been trying to get in for six months, and finally, she opened the door. We talked to her and got to know her pretty well. We talked about her kids for about a half an hour yesterday.  It was really cool! We set up a time that we can come by in about two weeks to have a lesson with her. I think it's going to be really cool. Things are starting to go a lot more. 

This morning we got up early and hiked up this "Mountain.” It was really just a rather normal size hill. It did have some cool rocks on it, but we got up at about 5:15 this morning and headed up. It was still pretty warm weather… still like 50° in the early morning. It was a super nice hill. The whole zone got up there, then we went over to an older couple’s house. We had a really good breakfast. That was super fun! I'm super, super, super, super, super, super, tired. 

It was pretty funny. They talked up this mountain of a house that we really get to hike. It was on the Indian reservation, so we had to have some of the natives come out and guide us up. I took a lot of pictures that I was going to send home, but we are on our iPads for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was pretty cool when we got there. We could only see the silhouette because only the moon was shining a little bit, and it was pretty funny….or was really pretty pathetic when I got there and actually saw that this was the mountain that we were going on. Ha! It probably took like 15 to 25 minutes to get to the top. 

Well, that's about all I can think of right now for this week. 

So, until next week!

Oh yeah, congratulations to Lydia for getting her call to Japan. That is super, super cool! And way awesome for Nancy for being on the Drill Team and placing first in three events and third in the dance. That is super cool! I’m happy to see that they're doing well and that they're performing well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Teaching Opportunity 1.5.15

Well, this week done did fly by quick like<--- Ha silly me!

I bet you guys had a blast in the nice weather for a while in Cali!! That looked fun! Hope we didn’t have car probs or get robbed this time! Ha!

But for real, there is so much that happened and I don’t have near enough time to start writing about them. Needless to say, The Book of Mormon is true and, therefore, this church is the only true church on earth. We have a prophet that leads and guides us through this world at this time and warns us of what is about to happen and how to prepare.    

The more I read and learn, the more I know this is the only thing that can be true! It is the only church that make complete sense!

But this week we were able to meet Charlie. He is 85 years old and lives in in MI. He came down to stay with his cousins for a few days. (His cousins are members.) The members invited us to come over to lunch with Charlie and them. We did. And we had a great lunch and set up a time to come back. We came by the following Saturday and went on a walk with him. (He loves to walk.) After about 30 min. we came in and started talking about the gospel and introduced the Book Of Mormon to him. He was super thankful for what we had given him. We invited him to come to church the next day. He came and loved it. He was super thankful for all the people that came and said hello to him and welcomed him. We met with him that night, and the first thing he said was, "Open up your Mormon Bible and read me your favorite passages." So we read in Alma a little about faith, and when it came to my turn I flipped to 3rd Nephi 11. And we started reading that. When we got to around verse 17, we stopped and started talking. He was so overwhelmed and grateful that he started crying. The spirit was amazing. He said he just needed some time to pray and gain his own testimony. The only sad thing is that he is going back to MI on Tuesday, but wants to meet with missionaries there. The Lord prepares people that are willing to listen and wants to know the truth. To any honest seeker of truth this gospel with answer any question that you may have!

Well, that is a little of how my week has been!

Love you all,

Elder Dawes

Derrick's Letter 12.15.14

So much for the 12 Days of Christmas:( UPS said the package was delivered to Derrick last week...but unfortunately...Derrick still hasn't seen it:(

*****

Cool Nancy! Ha! Do you get to drive that super cute van? It is weird to think that you are 16? I did get you something. I will be going to the store right after this and picking up some stuff for you all and will send it out soon. Hope you have a great day!  

Hahahaha! Well, i guess the Lord wants me here again. I will be here for another 6 weeks. I have some really mixed emotions. I thought, for sure, I was leaving. But I am not. I am super happy to be able to be with this ward for Christmas.  Hahaha! These wards are great! The members are doing really well. Also, they are all very supportive and trying to do missionary work! But the only problem is... is that we are in a wealthy area in AZ…. and agency:/ We have worked through every part of the area book. And so everything we have right now is just all on us, and finding. Very hard when no one is outside, and they highly recommend not to track. Even if we did track, we would go through both wards in 1 week. In a big dilemma now. 

On a good note: We thought for sure it was my last week here, so I told Robert it was, and he and his daughter Skyler came to church!! It was incredible. He also came to the ward party the night before, and he got to meet a lot of members, and he had a great time!!!! We are seeing a lot of progress with him and Skyler, and that is what I am here for! I am here for Robert and his family!! That is good, and I am excited for that.  Other than that, there has not been anything that is new.

The weather out here is perfect though! During the day it is in the high 60-70’s. That is really nice!

On another note: I do need to know when we are wanting to FaceTime on Christmas? That would be nice to know. I am pretty open to a time. We will just have to go to a church building, and I will use my iPad. Ha! Pretty cool. 

I hope you all have a great week! Congrats, Dad, with your school!!!!.. and SLC!! Ha! Cool! Cool! Talk to you soon!!!! Can’t wait!

Finding True Happiness 12.8.14

This week what pretty normal. Ha! Other than Tuesday… We had a zone conference. That was pretty cool. And for the first time in my mission, I was pretty sick! Nothing to worry about. I am fine now, just had to stay in 2 days... Worst ever! There is only so much sleep you can get....

My companion is not taller than me? Why? But, on the flip side,  I was able to read a talk about the Great Apostasy and how throughout the course of time, people have done the best they could with all the knowledge they had to do the will of their Father. But, nonetheless, over 1800 years things have gone wayward in the world of religion. Without the direct connection with God we are just relying on the wisdom of man.

I keep reading in the Book Of Mormon around 3rd Nephi. And I keep seeing the things that happened right before Christ came the first time happening again today!! We live in an exciting time. Where the fullness of the truth is on the earth. It has been restored just like many prophecies  have told us. This is the day and time where the best of the best have been saved to come to earth. To see if we will accept what the Lord has given us. To see if we will follow Him no matter what our background is.

God knew what you could handle. And he will never give you anything you cant handle. I cant begin to tell you how much I have learned in this short period of time! The only smart thing you can do is to follow God. And we can’t pick and choose what commandments we follow... If you follow God... you follow Him in everyway you can. You can’t follow two masters. This is something that I have been learning by seeing people. Good people. But they only want to follow when it is easy, and in their favor, and convenient. 

The bottom line is, we are all looking for happiness. Jesus Christ (our brother and Savior) came and showed us how. He lived a perfect life. He never once did anything that was not to follow his father.              

So, how are we supposed to find happiness by disobeying our father? By not keeping his commandments? It simply doesnt add up. The only way to be happy is to follow Christ. To walk as he walked and to listen to our prophet! He is the mouthpiece for God!!!!!

Anyway, I know this church is true and that Jesus stands at the head of this church! Take Moroni's promise serious. Pray to gain a testimony, or pray to strengthen your testimony often! I do daily. I promise you will never regret following the light!

This car was out side. A guy we street contacted. Looks sick. Sorry it was dark. Ha!

Thanksgiving! Snap! Crackle! Pop!

How was Thanksgiving?  And Black Friday shopping? What did you get? Man.. that was fun last year!!

I got to play in the Turkey Bowl on Thanksgiving, and that was freaking fun!!!!! I was incredibly sore for the rest of the week, but that is ok!

I definitely ate my Rice Crispi’s because I was Snap, Crackling, and poppin’ all week!!!!

Now that I think of it, I would have brought my camera and took pictures, but I forgot. Dang! The party at the school looked fun. For Thanksgiving we had two dinners.............. that was pretty awful! And yesterday we had two.... that was also pretty bad! The food was great, but man!! Still awesome tho! And we got to watch Saratov Approach... probably not the best show to watch on a mission,  for obiouse reasons, but what evs. 

It is December and like 2 days ago it was 85. You could say I am doing fine!

We are sharing and doing everything we can to get “He Is The Gift" out in the public! The church, on December 7^th, has bought the front add on YouTube for the day to advertise. They are expecting it to be veiwed by 250 million people.  Because of him of 5 million.... so get on and share it on you social media do everything you can to get it out!!!!!!! This work will go on boldly, nobly, and independent till it has penetrated EVERY continent, visited every climb and sounded in EVERY EAR till the great Jehovah shall say the work is done. This work will go on. God’s kingdom will be build.

We live in the fullness of times. Signs are happening, prophesies are being fulfilled and scriptures are coming to pass. We will never out number the unbelievers. In fact, we will be as but a small group in the perspective of things. 

In the Book of Mormon we see this happen. In the end of Helaman-beginning of 3rd Nephi, the saints all had to gather in a city and they defeated the Gadianton Robbers… though they are way outnumbered.

Light will always overcome darkness. God will always win, and wickedness never was happiness. I am so grateful for the gospel. For allowing me to look at things with a eternal perspective. God put us here on earth at this time because he knew that we could handle it. God will never give us anything that we can’t handle. But he gives us everything we cant do by ourselves.

Anyway, I love you all.  I am out of time.

O, be wise, what can I say more?

Love, 

Elder Dawes