Thriving in "Zion's Camp"

(I sent Elder Dazey a story from Lds.org about having charity when things are difficult on your mission and how Charity and using positive reinforcement can help.)  And his response was:

Thanks for the help Mom. It really is good. It is something that I need to apply more in my mission. I will have transfers. I think this companionship could have gone a little bit better if I applied that more (Although I honestly did apply it a lot) I will try to apply it more, to be able to help my future companions. It is a great principle, and I am very grateful that you shared it with me. Thanks  :D

   This transfer has been really hard. My companion and I have been in the mission the same amount of time, (He actually has 2 weeks more), I'm the senior companion, and he was already in the area. More than that, he had a history of not being obedient. He had a firm belief at the beginning of the transfer that he and his previous companion had already done almost all the work there was to do and that we couldn't really get more done.  The Mission President told me that I was here to find this area's potential, teach my companion, and knock off some of my rough spots in the process. As you can probably guess, there were a lot of bad feelings from the start. It's been a lot easier from the many prayers that I have received. What I can say is that I have been obedient, I have not given in, and I have hope for the future. God has blessed me with power beyond my own. We are ending with many new investigators that we didn't have before and 2 Investigators with baptism dates set. The area has progressed slowly despite opposition. I've felt a little bit like a babysitter. But! God has been there every step of the way, and you can never be unhappy with your personal actions if you are doing what is right.

   So I feel like this was my own Zion's Camp. I feel like it's been a test to see if I would be obedient and do the will of God. Ultimately, I'm glad for this transfer. It has firmly placed a lot of principles of obedient living in me. I've learned to persevere. I've managed a disobedient companion. I've seen what it is like to have every lesson be a lesson were the spirit is waiting on the sideline for the teaching to be good. I've felt what it is like not to have unity. I can now appreciate the good. 

I wrote this to President Stellmon:

    Yesterday we did exchanges with the Elder's Quorum President and another worthy Melchizedek priesthood holder. I was with our Elder's Quorum President and had the best lesson that I have had this whole transfer. We sang. We had unity. We had the spirit. It was so strong. I haven’t felt this good since I was companioned with Elder Hale. I've missed having the Holy Spirit so strongly in lessons.

   I feel strengthened. I have been blessed with spiritual power, and I have matured. 

The General Authorities who came to visit were awesome. They had a question answer kind of talk and answered a lot of our questions. Thanks for your love mom. It always helps me have good cheer when I think that I have parents and a family and friends who love me, and that the Lord loves me.

   Time to kick some butt in my new area! I'll know tomorrow and I'll let you know next week.

LOVE YOU!

-Elder Dazey

Footprints in the Sand

We've been working a lot with members. I have been a little bit stressed with Elder Diaz. The ward missionaries are working more and hopefully are starting to get more excited. We're probably going to get a new ward mission leader soon :/

(In Elder Dazey’s last area they organized the members into a missionary force and called them The …name of the town… Army. So he said..)  Maybe we do need to form a Cholula Army! (Cholula is where Elder Dazey is now)  I sure hope we can get these members nice and organized for some hard work.

Yeah, like the footprints in the sand, God's been carrying me for a bit here. Every next step I receive the strength I need to keep going. It's like receiving my daily bread. I need to be of more good cheer :D I love you too mom. Thanks for your confidence. 

   ( I shared a section out of Mosiah 18 about bringing people to the waters of baptism) Thanks for the scripture. I love the dedication and love for the people that they had then. It is a great example for me as a missionary now.

We got to see Elder Pino (a seventy) this last week. His message really touched me. I am starting to have more effective personal studies for what he told us. He was awesome. He spoke a lot about the Spirit, which is also something I started to work on. I love you guys. I don't have too much time to write because we spent a lot of time walking around down town with the district. I love you mom. I send you an internet hug. I'm praying for you guys.

Love, 

Elder Dazey   :D

I will trust in the Lord

I love you too  :D Sorry that I'm probably a little awkward on the calls. I think the next time we need to set up 5 minutes per person at the beginning to help out with that. I'l give you a hug in 16 months  :D It will be wonderful :D  

**In my letter to Benji, I shared with him the following story that a return missionary told us on Sunday from his mission. “Jordan was saying that where he was serving in Brazil, there are a lot of high rise apartment buildings. They all had doormen and the missionaries were not allowed in a lot of the buildings. So they figured they would start in their building because they could get into that building. So they prayed and started knocking on doors. They came to one apartment where when the woman opened the door, she just stood there staring at them like she couldn't believe her eyes. She invited them in and told them that she had had a dream that two young men like them would come to her door to share an important message and she should let them in! She, at first, thought that they were angels standing there! I believe that as you both pray together, that you will be lead to those who are prepared and that they will find a way to receive the Gospel through baptism no matter what their circumstances are. And Benji’s response was: Thanks for sharing what you said about Jordan. I was able to receive a lot of revelation this week, and I am trying to receive it with Elder Diaz. Hopefully we can get some good things done in this next week.

   

   Today we had a sweet Zone Activity. Something about zone activities get me pumped. It feels like there you can be exactly who you are. I felt like a total goofball. We played tag football and some different activities, and I got to be a total ham :D It was fun.

   :D One of the Elders asked me today how old I was in the activity. I told him I was 18. Everyone freaked out :D  It was kind of funny. 

   We had exchanges this week and I learned a lot from my district leader. We are going to work more with the members and hope that we can get some good things done here. I'm excited for this week. I HAVE HOPE! I'M WORKING HARD! I'M BEING OBEDIENT! I can say that :D Really that's all I've got to do. I felt a bit down last week, and so in response to last week’s letter to the President, he said " You are doing all you can. That is all we ask.   He said that he trusts me, and that the Lord trusts me. So I figure that I really just need to endure, and keep working hard, and if I just keep going, every little thing will be alright :D #dontworrybehappy

I love you too momma. The home sickness didn't hit me this time after skyping, but that doesn't mean I love you less :D

-Elder Dazey

And the Work Progresses

Thanks for the prayers. Things have been going better, little by little

 (This following is in response to stories that I told Benji about people from my lesson on Sunday who bore strong testimony of the Gospel as led by the Spirit. They were Defenders of the Faith.) There are  times  during my mission, I have felt the need to say something very clearly and powerfully in lessons. In one of the first lessons with Maria Elena from my last area, we talked about the "ice cream man authority" example (If you don't know what that is, ask Chellie. I felt that I should say directly that the person who had baptized her in her previous church was like the ice cream man, and that he had no authority and that her baptism was not valid. Only those people who have been ordained with Priesthood Power, have the authority to do baptisms. They took it well. She was one of the sisters that got baptized.

   I love you too mom :D  .  I get to skype for one hour. Yeah, My companion is excited about skyping his family too. In answer to some of your questions: My companion doesn't speak english that much. He is not excited about the work, but we have been able to keep going. We got the ward missionaries set apart. We'll see if they come to the training meeting today. The Bishop is weird. But, he is starting to do some good things. We do have a new Elders quorum President that seems very organized, and I think he'll get a lot done. I hope everything is going well. I pray for you guys every day.

    We went to go see that pyramid today. We went through a tunnel inside of it and then explored outside. It's the largest Pyramid in the world for its base. I'll send you more pictures, but I have to do them in different emails. These are pictures of us at the pyramid. The last one is of me and Elder Cruz. He's from Merida :D Which Ward were you guys in? And who were some families that you knew? I would like to see if you knew his family.

Love, Elder Dazey