Week 49 in the Field - Meskitu, Baptism, and Prayer

Weekly Letter 28/09/2015

I've had a great week this week, hope all of you have had excellent weeks as well.

First off, we were able to have a baptism this week. Telma Chacon got baptized on Saturday after several weeks of trials and illness. The service went well, she was baptized by her friend Christian and the baptism was short and spiritual. We will keep working with her to strengthen her testimony and to hopefully help her have the desire to serve a mission.

I'm really glad President Crapo put Elder Jepson and I with Elder Hebberth. He is from Puerto Cabezas in Nicaragua and has three months in the mission. He speaks a native language from the coast of Nicaragua called Meskitu. He's taught us a few phrases, my favorite being "Swiram Bripara" which means "Don't worry about it". He got sent with us so he could be with two mature missionaries. Occasionally he is too blunt in lessons and he is also a picky eater and has lost a lot of weight because he doesn't like the food here. He has a lot of great attributes and is a super hard worker. He's not afraid to open his mouth and share the gospel and he has a strong testimony. He's added a great dynamic to the companionship and we hope he stays with us for a while.

We have nine people with set baptism dates right now and found nine new investigators this week. Our relationship with ward leaders is pretty solid and we've especially improved our relationship with the bishop.

This week we had a leaders' meeting with President Crapo. He is really concerned with some recent disobediences in the mission and he wants us to raise our level of excellence.

This week I've been able to study a little bit about prayer. Something I've been able to clearly learn about prayer thus far in my mission is that the quality of our prayers is directly proportionate to our understanding of who God is and our faith and trust in Him.

President Joseph F. Smith taught, "It is not such a difficult thing to learn how to pray. It is not the words we use particulary that constitute prayer. Prayer does not consist of words, altogether. True, faithful, and earnest prayer consists more in the feeling that rises from the heart and from the inward desire of our spirits to supplicate the Lord in humility and in faith, that we may receive his blessings. It matters not how simple the words may be, if our desires are genuine and we come before the Lord with a broken heart and contrite spirit to ask him for that which we need." In such petitions from the heart, it is vital to remember the relationship we have with God. "Picture Heavenly Father in your mind's eye," taught H. Burke Peterson, "Think to whom you are speaking, control your thoughts - don't let them wander, address Him as your Father and as your friend."

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught about this principle of prayer and the nature of God saying, "...It is the first principle of the Gospel to know for a certainty the Character of God, and to know that we may converse with him as one man converses with another."

Prayer is not a statement or declaration. It is not a ceremony nor ritual. OUr prayers should not be solely emergency calls nor should they be flowery prose of praise. Prayer is spiritual communication between Father and child. "Prayer is made up of the heart throbs and the righteous yearnings of the soul," taught James E. Talmage. We should not just say our prayers but live a prayerful life. "The Lord is much more pleased with the person who prays and then goes to work than with the person who only prays,' reminds Elder J. Devn Cornish. Let us draw unto the Lord, not with lips only but with all our hearts, might, minds, and strength. Again from Joseph F. Smith, "Family and secret prayers should be observed, not alone to comply with the commandment of the Lord, but because of the wonderful blessings to be gained."

"Oh, bless me when I worship thee

To keep my heart in tune,

That I may hear thy still, small voice

And Lord with thee commune

Enfold me in thy quiet hour

And gently guide my mind

To seek thy will, to know thy ways

And thy sweet spirit find."

-Hymn 123, "Oh, may My Soul commune with Thee"

I love you all, have a great week.

-Elder Dawson

Week 48 in the Field - Elder Ruiz, Elder Hebberth, Chikungunya, and Truth

Weekly Letter September 21, 2015

Well today I'm celebrating 2 decades of life. It's been a great 20 years and although I don't have time to dwell in the past I would like to thank all of you for the role you've played in helping me get to this point. Love you all.

Today we have planned to play some basketball, eat Domino's Pizza, and write home. Should be a great day.

This week we got a third companion, Elder Ruiz. He's been a really hard worker and has a lot of great ideas. He's from Leon, Nicaragua and has 15 months in the mission. Unfortunatly he will be leaving today and we will be receiving yet a new companion. He is also from Nicaragua and has three months in the mission. I think his name is Elder Hebberth or something like that. This will be my fourth trio in the mission.

We had a great week this week, placing four baptismal dates, finding fifteen new investigators and doing more than 70 contacts. We were going to have a baptism this week but on the day of the baptism our investigator woke up with the mosquito virus Chikungunya. She couldn't get out of bed and we had to cancel the baptism. She should be baptized this Saturday if she gets better.

One thing I've been focusing on this week is bearing my testimony of the truth of the gospel. Truly a testimony of the truth of divine principles is essential to develop attributes of obedience and faith.

Neal A. Maxwell taught, "It is vital to know that there REALLY is  a God, that there REALLY is a Savior, Jesus Christ, that there REALLY is an impending immortality for all men, that there REALLY will be a judgment with genuine personal accountability, and that there REALLY is a purpose in life and a divine plan of happiness for man. When we know such basic truths as these, then we know what REALLY matters, how to approach life and how to view man in the universe."

President Joseph F. Smith taught, "The greatest achievement mankind can make in this world is to familiarize themselves with divine truth, so thoroughly, so perfectly, that the example or conduct of no creature living in the world can ever turn them away from the knowledge that they have attained."

We live, as prophesied of Lehi of old, in "a mist of darkness." Satan has been busy mixing the color pallete of truth and falsehood for centuries to confuse us in these latter days. Truly we must hold onto the iron rod to guide us through the half truths and philosophies of men that exist in our days. I love the words of the hymn "Oh Say, What is Truth":

Yes, say, what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize To which mortals or Gods can aspire. Go search in the depths where it glittering lies, Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies: 'tis an aim for the noblest desire.

The sceptre may fall from the despot's grasp When with winds of stern justice he copes. But the pillar of truth will endure to the last, And its form-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast And the wreck of the full tyrant's hopes...Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, Eternal, unchanged, evermore.

This work will go forward because it is true. God will keep his promises. Hold to the rod of truth and do not let the breeze of trend or the gust of trial make you let go. Truth is the pillar of eternity and though the great and spacious building fall, truth will stand.

Love,

Elder Dawson

Computer Place Selfie

Stamp I bought to stamp the pamphlets we hand out

Week 47 in the Field - Cousins, Eating Flowers, Trio, and Genealogy

Weekly Letter 14 September
2015

Hey guys, I hope everyone's had a great week.

This week on P-Day Elder Jepson and I discovered something really cool. We decided to print out some family history information after we finished writing, so we did so and at night started to read a little bit of it. Elder Jepson shared with me that his 5th great grandfather wrote the hymn "High On the Mountain Top" and was named Joel Hills Johnson. I said, "Hey I have family members that are also Johnsons" and picked up my thrice great grandfather Benjamin Franklin Johnson's book "My Life's Review" and began to thum through. I came across a picture of Benjamin and his brothers and lo and behold one of his brothers is Elder Jepson's ancestors Joel Hills Johnson. Turns out, we share a common ancestor, Benjamin and Joel's dad Ezekiel Johnson. This makes Elder Jepson my fifth cousin twice removed. Since discovering this, we've been sharing this story with everybody in the ward and getting people excited about family history. Truly it is a blessing to know so much about my family history and to have great lessons to learn from the stories of my faithful ancestors.

This week we had a baptism planned but it fell through due to some temptations with coffee. Telma Chacon was not baptized this Saturday but we have plans for this upcoming Saturday.

One weird sidenote about Guatemalan food culture is that people here eat flowers. They dip them in eggs and fry them and they turn out bitter but edible. This week a member received a flower boquet as a gift and told us basically, "These flowers are pretty and all, but they're also expensive so of course I'm going to eat them". Anyways, decorations are food here...

Anyways, we got the information about changes yesterday and Elder Jepson and I are both staying here in Lo de Fuentes. Interestingly, we wil be receiving a third companion who is not a Zone Leader like us but rather is a junior companion. This will be my third time in a trio and I'm interested to see what will happen.

This week, as Elder Jepson and I have been teaching a lot about family history work, my mind has reflected often on the relationship between Genealogy and the temple. President Brigham Young taught that "The ordinance of sealing must be performed here son to father and woman to man and children to parents, etc. until the chain of generations is made perfect in the sealing ordinances back to Adam." President Benson emphasized this point, saying "Our members need to be taught that it is not sufficient for a husband and a wife to be sealed in the temple to guarantee their exaltation - they must also be eternally linked with their progenitors and see that the work is done for those ancestors."

Joseph Fielding Smith solidified the importance of Family History Work with the following teaching:  "Some may feel that if they pay their tithing attend their regular meetings and other duties, give of their substance to the poor, perchance spend one, two, or more years preaching in the world, that they are absolved from further duty. But the greatest and grandest duty of all is to labor for the dead."

How grateful I am for the priesthood keys restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith that open the doors to the redemption of our dead. Truly our responsibilities as members of the Lord's church expand beyond beyond this generation. Temples become the link between heaven and earth as hearts are turned, spirits are lifted, and perspectives widen.

The Hymn "High on the Mountain Top" teaches it well:

For there we shall be taught the law that will go forth,

With truth and wisdom fraught, To govern all the earth.

Forever there his ways we'll tread,

And save ourselves with all our dead.

Hope everyone has a great week.

- Elder Dawson

Richest part of our area

Me with a bulldog

Selfie in Condado San Nicolas

Buses we take on a regular basis

Week 46 in the Field - The Year Mark, Horus´ Baptism, Let the Holy Spirit Guide

Another quick email this week.

This week I celebrated a year in the mission. Super happy for the experiences I´ve had and excited for those which are still to come. Didn´t do much to celebrate my year. On the third we had interviews with President and I went on divisions with the assistents. This week we did have a fire on the roof though and we watched meet the mormons and ate flame-roasted sausages.

This week we baptized a 23 year old guy named Horus. His mom and brother have been members for over a year but he had a hard time accepting the church. Finally the Spirit converted him though and he´s happy to be a member. After the service he said he felt like a changed man and said that he wants to stay active in the church. He has a chance to go on a mission so we´ll help him work towards that goal.

This week we had some cool experiences in following the spirit. One day our appointment for free lunch with members fell through and we felt like we should go to a particular restaurant to eat and when we got there there were members eating and they treated us to a free meal. In another experience we were lost on the way to a baptismal interview in another companionship´s area and the spirit told us where to go and we found exactly where the other Elders were. Truly as we strive to be worthy of the spirit´s guidance and follow His promptings we will be blessed.

Love you guys so much and hope you have a great week!

I got my year package this week and it was awesome! Loved the candy and beef jerky, the books were cool, especially the Guatemalan one by James Lesueur, I´m in the process of reading it. Socks were great too, and the newspaper with Tatum in it. Recipes were great but its always hard because its so hard to find american ingedients here.

Baptism of Horus