Letter to Claire for her Birthday (Jan 17 2016)

Hey Claire, Happy Birthday! I'm sorry that I am telling you this late, but I have not had the chance to emial you until now. I'm sending this to you, and it's only to you, because I love you. I am so happy that I am able to be your brother. When I see pictures of our Family it helps me to have strength, did you know that? seeing your smile makes this mission easier, and it makes it more fun too, because I know that you, and the rest of our family are being taken care of. I heard that Bro. Walker is your new Primary teacher, right? He is really great, you'll like having him as a teacher. I want you to know something. This Church, is true. Do you know what that means? That means that you have a Dad, okay, and He lives in Heaven. He is your Dad... you have two, you have a MOM AND a DAD who live in Heaven. What does that make you? That makes you... thier Daughter. right? Claire, I want you to think about what that means for just one second... you are a daughter, of the God that made the Earth. He made it. And do you know why you're here? on earth? You're here because you decided to come here. Let me tell you a story about what happened... Once upon a time, you and I were little kids, we would run around, and we would play, we were still brothers and sisters, but we lived at Home. At our house, we had a GAZILIONZ BILIONZ of bedrooms, and MILLIONS of bathrooms. And we had a great big Living Room. There were so many rooms because Mom and Dad had so many kids... we were their kids. And every once in a while, Dad would call us downstairs to the Great Big Living Room, because he wanted to tell us something. And we would always run as fast as our little spirit feet could take us, and then we would all pile into this great big Eternal Living Room, and we would all see Dad sitting in his Big old Recliner, and we were always so excited because Every time we were called into the living room by dad, we knew that we were in for a treat. Because dad, was about to tell us another one of his stories. And we Loved listening to Dad's stories. Dad always had these wonderful stories about how he grew up, and how he learned to be so great. He would tell us about how when He was young, he had to learn by trying, and working, and by failing, and by succeeding. He would tell us about how he had to make some very important decisions when he was younger, and that he had Eventually become the person he is today. We were always so Excited to hear about these stories because they were always filled with Excitement and wonder, and they were stories of Trial, and hardship, and struggling, and then we always knew that the story ended well. Dad Told us about his stories as a child, and we loved to hear about them Then One day, Dad Called us downstairs again. We came running as fast as our feet could take us once again, and we rushed into the great big living room. We knew that we were going to hear about one of Dad's stories again. We were all so excited... Except this time, we were a little confused, because when we ran into the Living room, we saw Dad sitting in his recliner, and then we saw Mom standing next to him with her arm on the back of the chair, and she had a couple tears in her eyes, and Dad looked more serious. As we filled in and sat down, none of us made a peep, we were all so confused. "is something wrong?" "mom's here this time, this is important" "what happened?" "who's in trouble this time?" As we all took our seats, Mom smiled through her tears and then Dad said, "Kids, today we have something that we want to talk to you about. Your mother and I, have been talking, and we have decided, that it is time for you, each of you, to begin your own stories. Just like the stories that I have always told to you, about how I had to learn, grow, struggle, Love, fail, succeed, lose, gain, serve, die, and live... Now you know that it's true, and now it's time for you to go out and do it for yourselves." We all Stood up and Cheered as loud as we could, and so did Sampson, and Every other Dog that we had back then! And then Dad told us, "but you will not be able to come home, unless you do Exactly what I tell you to do." then we asked Dad, "how will we know what you want us to do?" and Dad said, "we need to chose one of you to be an example and a leader for Everyone to follow." We all looked around at each other, and then a hand went up in the back, the way back of the room, our big brother Lucifer said, "hey dad, send me, I'll do it, but I want everyone to know that I was the best." some of us decided to follow Lucifer, but Claire, you and me and everyone else looked at the front row of our brothers and sisters at our Big brother Jehova. now Jehova was the best big brother anybody could have ever asked for. He made his bed Every morning, and he would do extra dishes when one of us would forget, and he would play games with us if nobody else ever wanted to play games with us, and our big brother Jehova was always doing nice things for us. We all believed that Jehova would be the best example for us. But we were all too scared to ask our big brother Jehova to do that for us, but then something amazing happened... Jehova stood up, and said to Dad and to Mom, "Dad, I am willing to do my best to help my brothers and sisters live come home safely, and I would do by best to be their example to follow. I will follow your commandments, and I will take upon myself the mistakes of my brothers and sisters, so that they can come home someday, if they accept me, that they may also, and more importantly, accept you. I would help them in any way I can, and I'll tell them to follow me, so that we all, can follow you." We were all sooo happy that Jehova had offered to do this for us, and our mother wept, and we didn't understand why, and Father said, "yes, I hoped you would say that." And then we came here... one at a time, at different times, to write our own stories. And Claire, we still have our big Brother Jehova, (now his name is Jesus Christ), as our example to follow, and when we mess up, he is there to help us if we ask him to. our Big Brother Jesus Christ knew that the best way for us to learn, was by example. so when He was born, he lived a perfect life, and was the perfect example for us. He then suffered for our mistakes, and because he suffered for each of us, He knows who we are perfectly. And because he knows us perfectly, He knows how to help us perfectly too. and one day, we'll all return to live with Mom and Dad again, and we'll be so happy that we too will have stories to tell. and we too will have kids to whom we can tell our stories. and we will be happy, forever. Claire... This is why we're here on earth. This story, it true. but the best person to tell the story, is our Big Brother, Jesus Christ, who can tell it perfectly. Claire, you and me have brothers and sisters here, all around us, who do now know about this because they have forgotten their big brother who they used to love. They have forgotten that Dad and Mom are always watching us and hoping that we will be safe, and they help us out every day. They want us to come home soooo bad, but they know that they cannot make us come home, we need to decide to do that on our own. But that is why I am out here, Claire. I wish I could be home for your birthday, but now you know, that the best birthday present I can give to you, is my love, which is the only thing that will last longer than this life. haha, have a good week, and have a good, year. when I see you again, you'd better be in young womans, hahaha! Love ya! Your big Brother, (but not your best big brother), Connor Attachments area Preview attachment GOPR0022.JPG Image GOPR0022.JPG

January 17 2016

This week has been pretty full of miracles to say the least. We've all got our struggles, and we've all got things we need to improve on, but this week has been quite a turn around from previous weeks in terms of the Missionary Work. We currently have four investigators, and three of them are Progressing. The first, a new young family with a husband, P, wife, L, and a 10 month old daughter. The funny thing is, they litterally live right above us, litterally, one floor above our appartment.¨, and they are progressing so well. We had an appointment to meet with them on Saturday, and we recieved word from them that they would not be able to meet on Saturday, and that would mean that we would need to have our next meeting an entire week later, and that is not good. Elder Oviatt and I were both nervous about the situation, and so we did our best to make the appointment happen some other way, and it just wasn't going to happen. Then, yesterday, on Sunday, Elder Oviatt and I headed out to contact people on the river paths next to where we live. We had just about walked out of the building when we saw P, next to the door, and he was preparing the stroller so that he could go out for a walk with his daughter. We said hello, and talked for a few minutes, and then we walked out of the building together. We explained that we were going by the river to talk to people, and he said he was heading in the same direction. We thought that was cool, and decided to talk to him, and check up on his Book of Mormon reading. Long story short, we ended up just walking next to the river and talking to P the entire loop, which is about an hour long walk, and we had one of the coolest lessons I've ever been at. P had litterally just decided to go the Exact same route for his walk that we had decided to take the night before while planning. The Lord really wants to make sure that we're teaching this guy. In only two weeks, he's read up to 3rd Nephi, and he has said, "yeah, I think it's true..." We have already invited him to be baptized if he finds out that these things are true, and he has said, "yes probably" so we just need to get him on a secure date now. Our only concern is that his wife is not always present in the lessons, so we're working with that. Oh yeah, and we need to get them to church. Then today, we just called up a former and he asked us to come over, we did, and had the coolest atonement lesson I've ever seen. He's going to be progressing very fast too. This week has been up and down a lot, and it's like I'm riding a spiritual rollercoaster sometimes. But It's been an incredible week. Can't wait to see what's on plan for Thursday's training. We will be having our first training for this Transfer on that day, and we'll be learning about Agency, Opposition, and Faith. It's going to be pretty cool to see all the new missionaries. I'm officially a full fledged missionary now. Fully fledged in terms of not being the young'n anymore. Kinda is hard sometimes though, to realize that I am no longer the greenie. Time just flies by out here. There are days when I feel like it's only been 1 day that I accidentally didn't write in my journal, and then I look over and it's been two days! what the heck??? on Saturday, we attended the baptism of our friend who lives in a neighboring city. He litterally was just a golden investigator. He met the missionaries, and took the discussions, never had any concerns and then was just baptized on Saturday. Incredible. Love you all, and I know that you pray for me because I'm seeing as well as feeling the effects of your prayers. Thank you. I'll pray for you too.

January 10 2016

It's been crazy, I've been following what my blessing asks me to do and I've found great blessings from it. I've been studying the Atonement and learning more about what the Atonement actually is. This week has been incredible, I have seen how Elder Oviatt is truly supposed to be the District Leader here in Jihlava, because of our past two district meetings, he has been incredibly spiritually led and has helped me to learn some things that I think the Lord has been trying to get me to learn for quite some time now. During District meeting last week, Elder Oviatt said something about the Atonement and how in Preach My Gospel it says that the more we learn about the atonement, the more we'll want to share it's message to the world. I decided to take it and try it, and I have been studying the Atonement for about the past week, and I have been blown away just how merciful the Atonement truly is. Preach My Gospel says, Through the Atonement, we can be Cleansed from Sin. Usually I just think, "duh" of course I know that... But this last time I read that I considered every word. I realized that, "Cleansed from Sin" means... Everything that has to do with sin. That includes the fact that we even sinned at all, is what I realized. Completely clean, so much that our Father in Heaven Promises that he will "remember them no more.". That is just incredible. I understood, before, the Knowledge that the Atonement cleanses us from our sins, but never had I considered the Inteligence behind the statement. If I make a mistake, and I repent, and if I feel bad about it later, the Only person who is hurting me, is me. I have found great desire come into my life over the last week to declare these glad tidings of great joy unto the world this week, and now I've found that my frustration wall is now something different, "How do I get these people to listen?" has been my thought lately. I had a dream the other night that I was home from my mission, and I was so confused because I could only remember the first 2 transfers of my mission, and I just couldn't remember anything else. It was scary. I rememember I was down on my knees in my homeward Church building just crying uncontrolably because I wanted soooo bad to be back here. In my Dream, President McConkie was there at the Church Building, and he told me that I could come back for like 3 weeks, and I was so happy, and I promised that I would work as hard as I possibly could during that time. Then I woke up. I silently think that this dream was a reminder for me to work as hard as I possibly can during this short time of a mission, and I am grateful for that reminder from the Lord. I am continuously blown away just how loving the Lord is, and I am continuously learning new things about people, and sharing the Gospel. Being somebody who was born into the Gospel, It is hard for me to understand what exactly is going through these people's minds when we approach them and speak with them about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and stuff like that. It's just so strange to me when I approach somebody, (this happens like 5 or 6 times each day) and I ask them, "what is important to you in life?" to which they respond, "family". then I ask them, "Do you want to live with your family after death?" to which they respond, "no, not at all, goodbye." and off walks the lady with her baby in a stroller... I just don't get it. How far gone are some people??? Anyway, it's been a good week, still struggling to teach the Gospel but hey, the Prayers that I've had to soften the hearts of the people here in the Czech Republic and in Jíhláva have been answered, Over the last week, Elder Oviatt and I have found and set up appointments to meet with 5 new investigators! Three of them, our appointments are today, one right after emailing actually. We also have one family, who actually live right above my appartment, litterally, we walk up the stairs from our appartment to the people that live right above us, and we're teaching them now. They are young, just a father, mother, and their young baby. We last had a lesson with them on Saturday, wherein we invited them to be baptized if they find out that these things are true, to which he (the father) replied, "yes" we then told them that the 6th of February we believed that they could recieve an answer to their prayers, and could be prepared for baptism by that date, and they don't know how to feel about setting a date I think. but who knows? we'll see what happens and we'll keep praying for them. Tak jo... Miluju vám, a mluvime se přišti tyden! Love you all, Elder Dean

January 4, 2016

Sorry for not emailing much last week, our P day was super packed with activities and I only got online for like 30 minutes to email President McConkie and send a short message home. This next Transfer, I'll still be in Jíhláva, and I'll be serving with Elder Oviatt. Elder Oviatt was an Elder who is in the same MTC group as my last companion, that means that he's about 8 or 9 months into his mission. The situation is different however, because Elder Oviatt just BARELY got into the Czech Republic. He has spent his last 8 months in either Canada or the US... Because he didn't recieve his Visa until just a few weeks ago. So he has had a lot of Experience with working in the English speaking missions, and his Testimony is really powerfull about member missionary work and the like. Member missionary work is one of the hardest things to do here in the Czech Republic due to the small numbers of members in each Branch. We typically teach our lessons alone with the Investigator simply because it's dificult to find a member that has time to help us teach sometimes. But Elder Oviatt knows 100% that missionary work works BEST with MEMBERS being involved in EVERY teaching opportunity. This will be able to be used to our advantage this Transfer, and Elder Oviatt will be able to help repair my testimony about the possiblity of working with members because my efforts have yielded little results. Elder Oviatt, because he has only been in the Country for 4 weeks, does not have very much experience actually SPEAKING Czech. That means that I am training Him in Czech for now. I am blown away how much the Lord is helping me to improve my Czech and how much I'm able to understand now that I am being forced to use it more. I have no doubt that the Lord Qulifies His Servants! I'm going to post a story to the Eagle Mountain Missionary email so you'll have to go there if you want to read it. I am so happy to be here in this missoin. I am learning so much... about how I know so little. and Sometimes it is hard. I'll be completely Honest, Sometiems it's hard, knowing that I have already served 25% of my mission, and I have not helped even one person come unto Christ via Baptism. Sometimes I feel like a Failure as a missionary because it is my Calling for crying our loud... to help people come unto Christ and into the Gospel THROUGH Baptism... and I have not done that thus far... Sometimes it is hard. But above all... I know that this Gospel, is true. I know, that we have the way out... of ANY trial, through the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He is active in the Work of Salvation here in the Czech Republic, and I know Him well enough to know that He is no respector of persons... and He is just as active in each of your lives as He is in mine. I know, that my efforts are not in vain, and even though I cannot see the fruit, I know that He's got a plan for those people who I meet on the streets. Sometimes... Most times, I have no idea what His plan is. But I know that He has asked that we simple go out and work, and forget ourselves and have faith in Him. I'm still trying to figure it all out... but I can say that it is true, even though I don't know exactly how... really ANY of it works yet. But it is true. "I am a Deciple of Jesus Christ", as Mormon says it. How true that is. Have a good week. Love you all. Elder Dean

December 28, 2015

It was transfer day. He sent a quick email, saying he did not have time to email. (boo)