Sister Dixon: A Child's Prayer

Hello everyone!

The days this week all seem to be meshed together so I'll write my email in the form of people. :) How's that?

Monday I met my new companion, Sister Arcinas. She is from Bulacan, 21 years old, going to be a teacher, and been here for almost 11 months. She is awesome at talking with people, and considering she's only been in this area for two weeks, she picked up super fast of where all our investigators are. :) We're still trying to figure out how we teach with each other, but she's awesome! Love her already. :) We are in Talisay, which is pretty much the opposite of Pontevedra. haha They're working on splitting into two wards, so the ward is pretty big, and the chapel is HUGE! I'm in a Bacolod zone now, so things are a bit more established since I'm in the city now, and I hear a lot more English. I love the ward though, and our Bishop is awesome!

Tuesday we had district meeting in Silay! My old area, so that was fun. :) Then later we met the Flores family. They have five girls, all very similar to the ages of Lanna, Becca, Rissy, and me. They are so. adorable. Such pretty girls. Their dad just headed to Manila for work, and they're Mom is so sweet. The sisters just met them on the street, so we're working on getting a good fellowshipper for them, but they are super receptive and are reading the Book of Mormon, so we're excited to see how the Gospel will bless them!

Wednesday the Acalling couple worked with us in the evening. They are in their 60s and so adorable. Sister Acalling has really bad scoliosis and they're pretty poor, but they're faith is so strong in Christ. In the Philippines, people don't usually show physical affection, but they held hands while we walked, so that was pretty cute. ;) haha Sister Acalling worked with us the next day as well....she's so pisan! Or in English that's something like diligent. Her testimony is so strong and she loves missionary work. She has a son on a mission right now, so I think it's awesome that she's serving right along with him! :)

Thursday we visited Cheyene (20) and Elsie (mid 40s). They are mother and daughter. Oh my goodness, Cheyene is SO elect. She soaks in everything we teach and reads the Book of Mormon every day. She came to church yesterday and couldn't stop talking about how much she loved it! It's just amazing how Heavenly Father literally leads you to people who are ready. The sisters before just walked up to them to ask where someone lived, and then they started talking to them...and it just went from there!

Friday we were teaching Jona, one of our investigators, and this older woman came towards the middle of our discussion and started listening. I asked what her name was and she said her name was Angelina. I asked about her family, and then she started crying. Her husband died about a year ago, and her kids don't treat her very well. She said that when she's in her house, she sees us all the time, but was always too shy to talk to us. So when we started teaching her neighbor, she decided to venture out. It's interesting, because when we first asked her to join, she was very hesitant and didn't want to, but then that's when she joined later after we started the lesson with Jona...the spirit must've pressured her just enough to join. :) We testified of God's love for her and His perfect plan for her and we expressed how we wanted to come back and visit her again. She was so happy to talk with us and she gladly welcomed a return appointment so we'll see what happens!

Saturday we met with a less active who said the devil is telling her the Book of Mormon is fiction. We asked how she felt when the missionaries first met with her and how she felt when she first came to know the Book of Mormon was true. Of course the feelings were ones of peace and joy, so we shared Moroni 7:13 about how if it's good, it's from God. She seemed to feel better after that and she committed to re-read the Book of Mormon and pray about it again to have those feelings again. We also met Mary Chris and Maxine. We taught them at their cousin's house, PJ, who's blind and a recent convert. They were taught by Sister Canimo and Sister Ludwig, so basically know everything. They just aren't able to come to church because they have to sell fish for their mom on Sunday. We challenged them to pray for guidance, and then talk to their mom to see if they could come to church on Sunday and explain why. They didn't come to church on Sunday, and we have yet to follow up, but I know the Lord will provide a way for these sweet girls to make it to church and eventually be baptized. :) We also visited Sheila Mae, the nanny of a member family. She's 23 and SO smart...she basically has a photographic memory of the scriptures she reads, and when we explained the Plan of Salvation she said without us even prompting a question, "so it looks like I really need to be baptized to go to the Celestial Kingdom." :) She had already committed to baptism, but I think it was just another confirmation for her of how important baptism and the gift of the holy ghost is! :)

Sunday I met the ward for the first time, which was great! So many awesome members, but the ward is HUGE! I'm excited to get to know everyone. Quinquero is awesome and super organized and we have lots of ward missionaries so I can't wait to hasten the work here in Talisay with them! We worked after church with Jene, a recent convert as of yesterday, and her testimony is so strong! If I didn't know, I would've thought she'd been active all her life. Her story's pretty neat...one day she was at 7/11 with her friend, Glide, who's a member. She saw Sister Emelio and Sister Bahm across the street and asked Glide who they were. She explained that they were the missionaries and then texted her a few days later asking if she wanted to investigate. She said, "sure!" And the missionaries met with her the next day. Man, I just love it! The members in this area are on fire and I'm so excited to work with them. It's truly through the members and through referrals that we find those who are super ready and elect. The process of conversion is faster, and they are stronger in the church after baptism. I love members! :)

Like I said, the days all kind of meshed together this week..that's what happens when you go to a new area with a new companion and meet probably 500 new people for the week, so hopefully next week my letter is a bit more organized.

I just want to end with a quote someone said in church yesterday that I really like, "A day without prayer is a day without blessings. A life without prayer is a life without power." I loved that! And it's so true. We kneel and pray countless times during the day as missionaries, and because of it, we receive countless blessings! I testify that praying with faith in Christ truly does bring power and miracles, and so much strength to get through anything. I know He hears and answers every child's prayer.

Have a great week! Love you all!

Love,

Sister Dixon