Derrick's Letter 11.24.14

Ha! Well, this week flew by. It was Saturday and it felt like yesterday was Monday? The week flew by!!!!!

Well, anyway, I could not help but to keep thinking of Elder Cox on Wednesday! I am so excited for him! And, of course, I could only think of Sister Shumway on Saturday!  That is crazy that she is married!!!!

On the other hand, again, not a whole lot has happened over the past week! Thanksgiving is Thursday and I know that I will not go hungry. Everyone we go to asks to feed us. (I have not had one night that I have not been fed.) So it is kinda hard to watch your weight. But, last week I dropped 5-6 pounds.  I live with one other companionship in our house and we all get along, so it is really nice. I have read the Book of Enoch and that stuff is awesome. Everyday, and the more I research it, the more I know Joseph Smith was, and is, a prophet of God! There is no way a boy of 14 could construct a church that strengthens families, and make someone happy in the midst of this world. It brings peace to the worried and comfort to the restless. This gospel changes lives. I know this and I could not trade anything for this knowledge. But no matter how much I know… believe this… I can’t override someone’s agency to choose. I can invite and love and care for them, but in the end, it is their choice. This brings me back to a scripture, "Wickedness never was happiness". I know that sometimes I think there are gray areas, but.... there isn’t. If you are not following God, who are you following?.... I see this so much out here. I see that people claim Jesus as there Savior but worship alcohol or sports,,,,,,,,, and the list goes on. 

     

I am so grateful to be a missionary. I might not be teaching anyone right now or be baptizing anyone. The Lord says, "Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word." I guess I needed to come out here and learn of the gospel before I am able to teach it. The Lord knows what He is doing. Trust him and do what he says. We will all be held accountable to our Maker one day. We will stand before Him, and He will ask us, “Did you do all you could to follow Me? To share my message to those I put in your path?”

         

It has taken me almost 100 days in the mission to learn and to understand these different lessons. I don’t know how on earth I would have learned them any other time if I didn’t serve. This message is true! There is no denying it. By your fruits ye shall know them. Show me another church on earth that follows The Bible more than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. 

Our numbers will always be smaller. We will never be a majority. The world is only going to get worse, and worse, and more darkness and more confusion.  "Men’ss hearts will fail them."  The great and abominable church will fall here in the Latter-Days. As hard as it is to say (The great and abominable Church is any church that is not God’s church. Any church that is not LDS.

         

We know who is going to win. Darkness can never overcome light. Don’t live below your potential. Don’t wait to be happy. Choose to be happy now-- today. God’s plan is the plan of happiness, not the plan of crappiness. God’s whole purpose is to bring us eternal joy (pure happiness). How can we be happy if we don't follow what He says, but instead follow the natural man which is an enemy to God? God will not give you any commandment that will not make you happy. 

This is a perfect church run by imperfect people. I know, for sure, the saying, “If the church wasn’t true, the missionaries would have destroyed it a long time ago!!!!!” That is SOOOOOOO true!!!!

 I know these things are true. "O be wise, what more can I say more?" 

 I love you all, 

 Elder Dawes

P.S. Love you both! Dad, I hope you do well on you dissertation! Mom, well, I remember those years... They were rough. Sorry for spending a bit of money last week! I will not need to spend a whole lot for a while. I love you. And I think of you all the time. I am thankful for you. As much as I hate to say it, but I needed a lot of that correction that I got. Don’t be afraid to correct......humble the girls.

I can’t wait for Christmas. Ha! Only a month away. I will look forward to it!! What wind? Have you got any more snow? Everything is pretty normal here. AZ , I guess, is not being affected by this storm. Anyway. I love you!!!!!

75 Degrees...and I'm COLD!!

We got a new zone leader and they don't go to Tempe every week,  so when I got mail I got like tons. Ha. So I will take a lot of time writing back today.

Well, anyway, what my days look like;

      Wake up and exercise. (normally run or lift for a half hour). Then eat, shower, and study the scriptures. I am reading the Book of Mormon now, and sometime I will read some talks or whatever. Ha! We have all of The Gospel Library we can study from. I have read the Missionary Library and a bit of Jesus the Christ. I just read what I felt like that day. For instance, today one of the Elders in my apartment airdropped me a talk. It was all about how a lot of people believe in Christ… but not a lot can say they BELIEVE Christ. Anyone can say they believe in Christ.   And a lot of people do, but they cannot say they BELIEVE Christ when they believe they cannot be forgiven for all the sins they do. Like Legrand Rischards says. “No true Christian on earth would not join this church.”

It is so sad to see that people are willing to settle for so much less than they can have. Elder Holland says, “People want a God that won’t rock the boat a little… but that won’t even row it!!!!! So many people here are just that way. They are just content with where they are. “When they are learned they think they are wise and they hearken not unto the counsel of God.” If you want the gospel to be complex and hard to understand, God will close your heart to understand the scriptures and make it hard. But the Gospel of  Jesus Christ is simple to understand. LOVE God. If you love God, then everything else you will WANT to do. That’s easy. Now it is a VERY different story to live that. 

Well, I want to tell you about Robert  I think that I have told you about him. If I have, whatever, I am saying it again. Me and Elder Rook street contacted him a few months ago. He has been inactive for most of his life. He had a mission call to Germany and things happenede and he went inactive and pretty much left the church. Anyway, he has a 13 year old daughter and she lives with him every other weekend. So it took a while to get a hold of them both to teach them a lesson. And when we did we had a super awesome experience.

We don't know if we can baptize her because she lives with her mom most of the time, and her mom doesn’t want her to listen to us. So dang, but we texted Robert on Thursday to ask if Skyler was going to be over for this weekend. He said, “no” but that he was super scared and asked for a blessing. So we went over there and had a super spiritual lesson with him and we asked if he would like to make it back to the temple. He said he would. That was amazing.

He and his girlfriend are going to San Diego for a trip. (They have been fighting a lot, I guess) So we invited him to go and walk around the temple grounds at that temple.

Yesterday, he was trying to send those pictures to our phone, but we have a piece of crap phone, so we will get to see those pictures later. Anyway, during the lesson we showed him "Mountains to Climb." It is a Mormon Message and he started to cry. Things worked out so perfectly in that lesson…. and the whole day. I could never have done any of it by myself. The Lord is doing his work, and I just get to be along for the ride.

I get to see how He prepares people and shapes them and gets them in positions in their lives. And when they are ready, He introduces the gospel to them. He does it when they are ready. God will never force anyone to do anything. And I just get to be here right now… and be the Lord’s hands with Robert right now. The things I said in that lesson, I will never be able to tell you they were my own. This will happen to everyone on earth through different people and at different times.

I am so grateful for the Lord and his atoning sacrifice for me, and all he does EVERY DAT for me. I was feeling very down and wondering why on earth am I stuck here in this area… that is super small??? And the Lord had to point me back in the right direction… again. And that very afternoon we had that experience with Robert, and I got my answer. I am here for Robert. I am here for him.. NOT my self. (Robert said in the lesson that if I got transferred he would have to shoot whoever transferred me). The Lord has to be pretty basic with me.

Anyway, most of the time we are just going to member’s houses and checking up on their family mission plans 90% of the time.

Sweaters: I like argyle. I like zippers… ok with mid or full zippers. Don’t get anything to out there. Just dark grays and blacks and gray. Ha! It was like 75 with a little wind, and I was way cold!! So they are going to need to be warm. Ha! Or solids work. Also, nothing that will distract from my purpose. I cant think of anything else.

Elder Dawes

Not much to say:/ In dire need of a lesson on patience

I am super excited for BRIELLE!!!!!!!!!! and her husband (to be). Haha! That is super crazy. I only moved houses. Still cover the same area and have the same companion. That is all. This week has been fast but pretty uneventful, so it will probably be a quick letter. But this coming Sunday is going to be the temple dedication!! That will be cool.

Transfers are always FUN because even if you don't get transferred you still get to go and see all your old companions and people you lived with and stuff. Even if your are not getting transferred you will get to go and hear from the Mission President and see the incoming missionaries. Other than that, there is really not anything that sticks out that is needful to share.

A sister missionary, Sister Strong just got home. I asked her if she knew Sister Mantz, and she did!! Pretty small world.

I know this letter is super short, but I really can’t even think of anything that has happened that is worth sharing? Ha! Just same ol’, same ol. Oh, wait! When does Ryan go to Jamaica?? I know it is this month!!!!!

JJ… ha! That is super cool that he is with people he knows! Ha! And HJ said that he went on exchanges with someone from Blanding. Ha! Small Mormon world. Sorry for the short letter? Ha! I sent dad my new address.

The work is slowly progressing, and I see the Lord’s hand in the work. Right now, I guess, I am in a dire need of a lesson on patience. Ha. So all I can do is keep the Spirit with me and be ready for when the Lord sees fit for me to teach one of my brothers of sisters. Until next week.

ELDER Dawes

Derrick is Staying in Chandler 11.4.14

Well, this week has gone by very fast! Like every week! Ha! Well, I am glad Meg had a great birthday! And man, what the?!?! You start doing fun stuff for Halloween after I leave??? I went to a dinner and someone asked me what I did last Halloween, and I could not for the life of me remember what I did!!! Ha!

But I cam glad you had fun up there in freezing cold Utah!  Ha, it is super weird that it is 70, and I am (no joke) cold!!!!!!!!!! What the??????????? ‘bout died! Ha! Got home, and what was sitting in front of my door…??? Two packages for ELDER DAWES!!!!!! BABY!!!!!!!! Hahaha! Good thing you sent them there because if you didn’t I still have not got mail for 2 weeks! Ha! The tie is super awesome.  LOVE IT! DEF ON OF THE FAVS!!! And.. Ha! It is super long! I had to tie and re-tie for a half hour so the back wouldn't be longer then the front! Ha.

Super cool to see a billion little Principal Dawes’s running around! Haha! Super cool!!! Man, I can’t believe I was cold yesterday? What the?

Anyway, I am learning that you can’t change people’s hearts. The teaching pool here is........ But we are trying all we can to invite other to come unto Christ and add upon and further their knowledge of Christ! It is sad to see that soo many GOOD people are willing to settle for less then they can have. I was studying in 2nd Nephi … around chapter 28.(Not sure exactly what ones… sorry.) And it just assured me that Christ says, "I will do my work." I know He will, and I have seen Him in action with people here.

The timing has to be perfect, and that is something only God knows. All we can do is invite, and hope that the timing is right with the individual.  I hear over and over of converts that said they turned missionary away for years! But, we can never give up on our brothers and sisters!!!! 

Dawes Analogy:

The gospel is "The ol’ ship, Zion." We are entering some stormy waters. We have to reach out our arms to our brothers and sisters. It is their choice to reach their arms our to grab on, but we have to be ready when people reach out for us. 

Some people are content with floating by themselves on a log, or a large peace of wood. (Representing other church's)  But, that will only last them so long. The waters are getting more and more tumultuous and rough.  Those little logs will only last them so long. The great and abominable church will fall...  and every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the Christ. Everyone will be held accountable for whether or not they accepted Him and His gospel.

Sorry for the short letter. The work is slow but these are the times that the Lord blesses me with revelation to think and ponder on things that will matter for eternity. The gospel it too good to be false. This gospel blesses families and everybody! This is Christ’s Church!!!!! He leads it!! I feel a lot like Nephi wondering why my flesh is so weak?? My heart wants to be perfect, but my flesh is ever so weak!!

Short letter, sorry.

ELDER DAWES

Love you all!!!!!

P.S. Transfers are Thursday. Got calls today, and I am staying for one more transfer. I have plenty of time to work on patients.