January 3, 2011

Hello!

um, So its been a new year. isnt that nice? um yah, so on new years there was lots and lots of fireworks... kinda. Well there were some that expolde in the sky, like over grandpas lake during 4th of july. besides those i saw 2 other kinds. The most common, was on they would light on fire, and then throw in the street... and BOOM! it would just make a really loud noise. The other one is on a stick-like-thing, were you light it, and fire would come out that end. for about 5 seconds. anyways...

um So, after I wrote last email... I thought hmmm Who was I really writing to? So I desided this time, instead of just writing my every thought that comes to mind for the 1-2 hour time I have, I would think first then write... ohhhh. right. Also.... I thought, who is actally reading this.. At first I thought, hmmmm prolly no one. Then I thought, maybe someone actally is, like my newfews and nieces, like derek, and miranda, and dallen, tanner, and caleb,ammon, and maddie #2, and more. So I think ill write towards them.

anyways. This week, It was new years. um, what did we do...? Well we went and taght with some people. um oh yah. One of our progressing people, name is jorell. He is 11. He is grandma is member and his uncle is the branch president (bishop kinda). Hes pretty cool. um, yah, they (him and his family), figured out my first name and they think its the coolest thing every to say it. I guess that means I am the coolest right? right? He was going to be baptisted on the 8th, but we desided to pull it back a couple weeks, for fun. (well to make sure he is ready too).

Um another guy we have been working with is named roheilo (row-heel-ee-lo). he is prolly 60. He has a son on a mission. He wants to be baptised, but has a word of wisdom thing. (sorta). So we have been working with him. This week we desided what would help him the most would be, instead of poking him everyday saying.. moo, moo, stop eating that stuff.. mooo, to help him read from the scriptures and go to church. There family read from the scriptures for the first time as a family last sunday. They got to 1 Ne chp 3. Hopfully they read this sunday too, (we haven't been able to check yet). Whats really werid, is that some how, I can talk to this guy. He doesn't speak tagalog very good, (he mostly speaks ilikano). Well, I don't speak tagalog very good ether. Maybe because we both don't speak tagalog very good, that it makes sence we can talk to each other in tagalog. ( that makes sence right?)

The other day we did a service project with him too. I am not sure really what we were doing.. Well we went to a niyugan (coconut tree forest) with these really sweet sword/knife thingys. We spent some time (should have been about 2-3 hours, ... but we got lazy after about 1) choping down veggitation near the coconut trees in a certain area. Not sure why. oh well. maybe to make it easier to find and collect coconuts later. Anyways those sword things were sweet! I am sending a picture with me holding two. I actally only used one when I was chopping stuff.
[A little nerd note: ok so it was hard for me at first to figure out how to use these things right at first. Then one of the guys showed me how, I needed to chop, starting up high, and down in a curved angle. After watching him (and my companion mentched dota) I realized that I had seen that before. Gonter the bounty hunter, in dota, uses these things, and actally swings like that. (I think) So now that I have said this everyone has to get on dota, maybe this friday, and have mark be that guy, watch the way he swings and then zap him a bunch for me. He will like that.]

Um anyways, after the first hour, we got some coconuts and drunk the juice, and ate the white goodness inside. Then we walked about 4 mintues and sat at the beach for a while.

um, so this is kinda a werid question, but I figure ill ask. I have thought of a compalcatied way of saying this, and then a simple one.
This is mostly for young people- like 11 and younger (well calabs age and down)
(who are still smart... yah I figured out we get dumber as we get older.. at least i do... like i am pretty sure i could do more calculous when I was 5 then I can now)
Or for the old people who, have already been on a mission.
(john this mean you... your old haha).

so simply... should I be a good missionary, or a better missionary?

I guess I was just thinking this for the last couple of weeks. like in the MTC you are told a million times, that I am suppodes to be exactly obidient.
But from what I get out here, from the other missionarys, is that there are rules that are there, but really don't worry about them, and just do your work.

I have been pretty stubbern for the first 11 weeks out in the field trying to be fairly obidient.. but I am starting to kinda fall away from that. And before I do, I wanted to ask your opinions. What ever you say, I am still planning on changing somethings... like I havent been getting enough sleep, and now I have a fever. I know that I am like jimmy is the fact that, I need sleep or I will ... just fall asleep. So rule or not, I am planning to get to bed sooner. Also I realized that my language has been getting worse, (well worse (like more bad) then it was before i left) and thats not right. I have looked over the whole rulebook and I understand that if I did follow or get close to each of the rules, it would actally help me temperally. Supposabley spritially too. umm... Anyways, I think my opinon is obdvious what I should do... but I have heard different ways from people back home before. (this whole thing, isn't about me be a bad missionary or not, its more like if I should treat the mission like I treated boys scouts, you know like row-row-your-boat to the front of the line kinda stuff.. or something a little more.)

anyways I guess my question goes back to what I said before.

Should I be a good missionary, or a better one?

um anyways, I have a story. An example of our teaching.

So on saterday, I was working with the family I baptised, the rocapors. We went to teach them, about charity. I had been begaining to feel pretty sick and its was fairly late (like 8pm or so)... so i mostly stayed out of the lession. After about 30 mintues, my companion asked, will you have charity for your fellow men (hmmm I think, something like that). Then they started telling something... for about 20 mintues. I tryed to keep up, and I have learned, usally I understand more then I think I do. Afterwards my companion said something short, and then looked to me expecting me to say something. I started with, I know that you have having a problem with brother ray (ok not exactly true, I wasnt really sure, but I did know that my companion was talking about charity, and they menched their kids name, joy, and brother ray... and when they menched brother ray, they made a werid face. ) after that I had no idea what to say, but just resently, like 10 secounds earlyer, i realized that there is a picture of chirst in the front of the aklat ni Mormon. So I opened to that. And then remember that one of words I wrote down to study was forgiveness.... execpt for the fact, that was the only word i didnt look up... doe. Anyways, I start talking about how Chirst forgave and will forgive us for all of our problems and sins. And how When he was on the earth, he wasnt treated very good, and people called him names too. Then I said said that to have charity is to have the pure love of christ (from a scripture my companion read earlyer). And that Although people aren't perfect to us and it is really hard, we are to forgive as Chirst does for us. (Something like that). Then I asked if they would forgive brother ray.... (or something). Afterwards it seemed like they actally understood what I said, and then continued like what I said made since to the conversion and made since to their situation.(What doesn't make since here, is how I could say anything that they would actally accept as they are obvoisly much smarter then I am, and older, and my tagalog prolly made me sound like i was 6 years old.) Then my companion said some more stuff... and by then I had no idea what he was saying. I was pretty tired.

Anyways thats what we do out here i guess.

Oh before I go, I almost forgot about some of my accomplishments this last year.

I have learned to use soap.
Good news, There is no more, I used the whole thing.
Bad news, I am now used to using it everyday, and so I'll prolly go buy some after this email.

um. well I think thats it. Oh I now shave every day. And have used a whole bottle of shampoo. and toothpaste.

Something else, that someone might find intersting. To help me speak tagalog, me and my companion have a plan. Its were I only speak tagalog in the apartment. And for every english sentance I speak, I put a 1 peso (about 2 cents), into a box.(I dont know why he picked a huge box... I hope i am not that bad). so far theres about 10. we arent sure what will do with the english money. Maybe we will get a bunch of soda with it at the end of the trasnfer. or.. something.

what ever... ummmmmm bye.

elder luke dickinson

p.s. cila and tammy emailed me about food... I like food. Also I like recipes. um I can find a lot of stuff here. my area right now, is really out in the middle of no where, but still can find a lot. All the other areas, are closer to a big city, and mostly likely my next area i will be in will have a mall. no one ever sent me pakecake mix recipe.... :(