All Good Things Require Effort

Honestly, I barely remember what happened this week. And the only two notes I took consisted of "Made some yummy food" & "last week in the area."

Basically, we worked real hard to spend time finding new PREPARED people to teach. We also had lots of teaching opportunities, and almost equally as many fall through haha. I really have learned to appreciate people who actually stick to their word and follow through with their commitments/appointments. I also started to say goodbye to some people in the area. It is sad to say goodbye, but I am also excited to get to move to a different area. Six months in one area is a pretty long time. 

 PrettyBird. Good, but WAY too expensive

Some gnar fish eye pics 

Lots of different goodbyes to people

You'll find out in my next email where I am and what I am doing. 

Well, I will share a quick scripture that I shared yesterday at church in a lil talk. Give it a read real quick:

Alma 5:45-46 (The Book of Mormon)

"45. And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?

"46. Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me."

I love this chapter of The Book of Mormon. It is a great chapter to get rid of pride lol. Also, a really good scripture to learn about good questions and how they can help with teaching. Anyways...I KNOW that as we WORK to have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, then we CAN have it. And we will know by the power of the Holy Ghost. I challenge you all to work extra hard this week to strengthen your faith and testimony. 

Song of the Week:

- When The Sun Goes Down by Uncle Kracker and Kenny Chesney. Shoutout to Kyle and Kade

Thanks for reading,

Elder Ditto

I Finally Got MY Pokémon Card!

Why did the chicken cross the road? 

To get to the other side...

A kid we are teaching gifted me a "Ditto" pokemon card. It has taken me 21 years to get this card... pretty hyped to finally have it haha

I never know how to start these emails lol. Anyways, here are a few notable-ish things to mention:

- We got a lil bit of snow this week

I got a lil fisheye lens...totally gnar

- Talked to some really arrogant and prideful people this week. People who really aren't willing to see anything, except for what they want to see. I definitely am not close to being a perfectly humble person, but I am trying hard to work on that change in my life. Humility allows growth and accepting others' ideas.

 

- I dunked on a 12 yr old while in my missionary clothes

- Got my chip put in. Felt really achy and sore and had a bad headache. Kinda sucked. But now I can say I've gotten the Booster

My favorite lesson to teach. I am so grateful for God's plan for us.

- Chic-Fil-A spelled my name "Diddo"

- I buzzed and faded up Elder Nogueira! Maybe I should be a barber after my mission

Elder Nogueira's haircut

- Saw a lady today who cut a hole in her mask so she could breath  effective and innovation.

Song of the Week:

- Drift Away by Uncle Kracker. This song is fire! Shoutout to Uncle Kracker for inspiring so many 

Scripture of the Week:

- Enos (The Book of Mormon). This is such a good book in the Book of Mormon! Such a good example of how prayer answers questions, and how we can ask for repentance and forgiveness. 

心から、

ディット長老

Recent Converts in Charge of Church

Crazy January is over halfway done! 

Elder Nogueira and me

Lots of people got sick this week...maybe with actual COVID...maybe just using that as an excuse. 

This pic could be in a COVID magazine or something 

But overall pretty solid. I will skip to some bullet points of things that went down this week:

- I had wagyu nigiri sushi (technically last week, but I forgot to mention it). It was okay. Not really worth the hype. Maybe if I got some higher quality wagyu then it would be killer?

- Antibus gave one of the best and most heartfelt prayers I have ever heard. And it was in English, which was gnar.

Antibus getting his Book of Mormon Stories book. Oh, also he got a haircut. No more dreads. 

- Antibus passed the sacrament! Oh and he taught this random guy who came into the church about the Plan of Salvation, which was SO cool to see.

- Dee gave the opening prayer in church (the same day Antibus passed the sacrament). She killed it!

- Brother Donaldson (if you have ever seen "The District 2," he is the mission President in that) came and helped out with an AMAZING Zone Conference. I learned a ton and am working on teaching the Restoration in under a minute. He asked SO many good questions, and gosh dang I wanna be like him!

- Met this guy named Happy. We actually met him like two months ago and Elder Nogueira and I have talked about him a lot but we didn't get his info we needed to talk to him again...so we just started knocking some doors in his apartment complex. We ended up meeting him after knocking like 6 doors! Crazy. Little miracle!

 Elder Nogueira doing a fit check 

Song of the Week:

- Don't Stop Believin' by Journey

Scripture of the Week:

- Mosiah 2:25 (The Book of Mormon)

25 And now I ask, can ye say aught of yourselves? I answer you, Nay. Ye cannot say that ye are even as much as the dust of the earth; yet ye were ^acreated of the ^bdust of the earth; but behold, it ^cbelongeth to him who created you.

Much Love,

Elder Ditto 

Cold Water Miracle!!

What's up Elder Ditto support squad! Another GREAT week!! First off — Dillon got baptized yesterday! I will talk more about that in a sec...

Dillon's Baptism

But first...funny story. We were teaching these kids the 10 commandments (there are like 10 different hand signs to help remember them, and we were teaching them those). The kids could NOT process how to get their fingers to move in such a way to make the signs that brain-to-finger receptor was definitely not developed yet lol. THEN while we were teaching these kids and their mom, this other kid was in the corner was causing some commotion. SO the mom grabbed the kid and buckled her up into a car seat that was sitting on the floor. This way, the kid can watch her TV show and hopefully not be distracting. BUT the little girl was kinda upset still and a few minutes later I turn and see her tip over and hit the ground sideways the funniest thing was it seriously looked like she fell in slow motion. Then she tried to flip over onto her face and stand up and walk. But since she is locked in a car seat, her legs can't really bend and she is shaped like this . She looked like a right triangle. Okay this is clearly less funny when I explain it...but me and Elder Nogueira were trying hard to hold back the laughter at the moment 

Dillon! He got baptized last night. 

 Dillon post-baptism

We met him like 1.5 months ago. We were walking around and then saw Dillon walking into his apartment and started to ask about his holidays. He said they were fine and then walked into his apartment and was closing the door when we yelled for him and asked another question. Then there was a pause and then he opened the door again. We started to talk about the Plan of Salvation and BOOM now he is baptized and has the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Amazing how God works. He really prepared Dillon for that moment too. Dillon is such a funny guy and I learned a lot from teaching him. He is gonna be a great leader in the church too! Everyone likes him haha 

Oh also - Dillon wanted the water cold for his baptism (but there is only one temperature for the font...and the temp is WARM), and we told him we would not be able to deliver the necessary cold water sadly. THEN there was a power outage while the font was filling and this mus gave caused the water to not be heated. Cuz when we went to check on the water...it was COLD! God is in the details. The water ended up being like lukewarm, with a cold bottom layer haha, cuz the heater kicked back on after a while

Elder Griffiths exchanges with a snake

We also got a bolt (& washer) in our tire and had to get that fixed. And like everyone has COVID, so that is crazy. Oh, AND Dee (got baptized last week) said the closing prayer at Dillon's baptism, so that is rad! 

Elder Nogueira 

Song of the Week:

- Bad by TheHxliday. This song reminds me of when I was all sad at the beginning of my mission, and especially when I missed Young Chap  He sent me this song back then 

Scripture of the Week:

- Alma 32 (The Book of Mormon). This chapter is FIRE!!! I am a bit fan of the talk of faith. But also I really like all scriptures about Humility and learning the power and impotence of it! 

L O V E ,

Elder Ditto 

Following Jesus Christ's Example

Happy 2022! Pretty crazy how fast 2021 went by. Also rad cuz I got to be a missionary for the WHOLE year! I am hyped to get to watch my "2021 highlight reel" when I die and get to judgment Haha. 

Anyways....this week was real good!! It honestly was a pretty long week though. But two of our friends were baptized and confirmed a member of Christ's church! Friday and Dee are such good examples to me. We met Friday about 1.5 months ago and met Dee like 2.5 months ago (back when I was with Elder Cleverly and Sedgwick). They are just the best!!!

Things I thought I'd bring up this week:

- We had a "snow squall" (basically just a super snowy snowstorm, with basically no visibility), and like one or two more normal snowstorms. I LOVE THE SNOW! But I also miss the warm 

Chilly and snowy phone call 

- We saw someone have a seizure on the side of the road. We asked to help but they already had a nurse there and ready to help.

- Church times changed, which really messed with the people we are teaching (and ourselves). Cuz now we have church back-to-back and have to miss more of our wards cuz they overlap. 

Exchange w/ Elder Jeppson!!! 

- Friday and Dee got baptized! We started teaching Friday because we asked to help her unload some groceries into her new apartment. Then we shared some things about our church and started teaching her! She also has a little baby, who is the coolest. 

Friday's Baptism

Friends that came to support Friday at her baptism!! 

-We started teaching Dee cuz we knocked on her door (pretty randomly actually) and we were looking for someone else. But she was there and God is in the little things! It ended up being an answer to Dee's prayers that we came that specific day

Dee's Baptism

How was my New Year's Eve?? — Well. We went to bed at like 10:20 pm haha. I think this was one of the first times not staying up for midnight. But man we were TIRED! 

THANK YOU!!! Thank you so much to everyone who sent me a Christmas gift, card, letter, or even sent prayers my way! I love y'all and am very grateful for my support all over the world. The Christmas cards are hanging up on our bathroom door  gotta keep the Ditto tradition alive (except on the bathroom door haha)

Song of the Week:

- "The Lord is my Light"

Scripture of the Week:

- Matthew Chapter 3 (The New Testament). This is where Jesus Christ was baptized and followed God's commandment. I love this Chapter, and really love to share it with people we teach. It is so cool to look at how Jesus Christ traveled so far to be baptized by proper authority! He didn't just go to his neighbor Jarold....he traveled around 40 miles to go to John the Baptist - who had that authority (priesthood) from God to baptize. We can learn so much from the scriptures and what Jesus Christ taught and did. 

L O V E,

Elder Ditto