Sister Dixon: Improve the Shining Moments

Hello wonderful friends and family!

This week flew by! Here's some of my favorite moments of the week:

- We had an amazing lesson with the Flores family (they're the ones with the 5 girls similar to our family :) ). A while back, there was a member that kind of scared them thinking we were forcing them to be baptized, and so then they told us they didn't want to join or go to church or anything. We gave them a break for a while and then this week went back to visit them. They let us in and were willing to listen. We talked about how much the Gospel can bless their family and that that's why we were there...to help them know how. Sister Flores got very teary eyed and started to cry and the spirit was strong. We were hesitant to bring up baptism again after the last encounter, but the spirit was really urging us to invite them to baptism again. We read a couple verses from 2 Nephi 31:10-12 about following Christ, asked a few questions, and they committed to baptism. :) It was probably one of the most intense, but most spirit filled lessons I've ever had. We left from the lesson and Sister Tangonan said she had goose bumps and couldn't stop smiling! I felt the same way. :) Amazing what the Spirit can do to the hearts of those who are ready for the Gospel. Next time we're hoping to meet the father, who Sister Flores said is such a good, good man. "Different than any other man in the Philippines"...so we'll see how it goes!! :)

- Elsie Wenceslao told us that Miguel insisted to her one day that he's not, "Miguel," he's "Brother Miguel." And Cheyene is "Sister Inday." haha (Inday is a word that most parents use when calling their daughter. They rarely say each other's names. And they say Toto for their sons). She also said that after he does something naughty, she always finds him afterward, sitting down with his eyes closed and arms folded in prayer, as if repenting. Isn't that the cutest? He was blessed this past Sunday and I loved how part of the blessing was that he would grow to be a strong Priesthood holder and powerful missionary and be strong in providing for his future family. I can't wait to see what's in store for this little man. He'll make one awesome missionary someday! :)

- We had a few great lessons with Marlyn this week. One was on the word of wisdom. She said she wasn't sure if she'd be able to give up the coffee right away but she'd try. The next visit, she told us something like, "you know what sisters, I was really thinking about what you said about the word of wisdom, and there really are a lot of alternatives, so I've stopped drinking coffee. I just drink milk now, and I don't even have a headache!" :) She said she kept herself suuuuper busy to distract her from drinking coffee, which meant she forgot to read the Book of Mormon..but hey! It's good progress! And she promised not to forget to read next time. ;)

- Rossini, who's 9 and one of our investigators, and daughter of our investigator Henry, gives the sweetest, most sincere prayers ever. I love them. They are truly from the heart. For example, we went to their home, and there wasn't an adult there, and we need to have an adult to enter the home, so she went and grabbed her 25 year old sister, Rose, who occasionally joins us when she's not busy, and then said, "okay! You can come in now sisters!!" When she gave the closing prayer she said something like this (it might sound weird translated into English)..."We're thankful that Rose came in so that the sisters could come in, because it's dark outside bala haw and gani, we're thankful that the sisters could come in here." Okay, that really doesn't have the same effect in English as it does when she said it in Hiligaynon haha... but it was sure a sweet, sincere prayer. She's definitely a sweet example of praying straight from the heart. :)

- Euliza, our investigator who's the daughter of Renaliza (our recent convert), was gone all this last week on vacation so we didn't get to meet with her until Sunday. We were a bit worried because she's scheduled to be baptized this Saturday, but when we had our baptismal interview question lesson with her, it was amazing to see how much she's grown. When we first met with her, baptism wasn't really one of the top things she wanted to do in life, but as we went through each question, her testimony really showed through and she told us after we talked about what she'd be covenanting at baptism, that she really feels now that this is what she needs to do. She's completely humbled her heart, repented of her sins, and is so willing to take upon herself the name of Christ and stand as His witness. We were overjoyed with the change that has happened in Euliza. :) There's a quote in Preach My Gospel about how the study of doctrine changes behavior quicker than the study of behavior changes behavior. I've seen this to be completely true in Euliza as she has changed over the last few months into a new, more Christ-like Euliza, all because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. :)

We had a lot of other tender mercies and spiritual experiences throughout the week. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I'm constantly in awe at the many blessings and miracles and tender mercies Heavenly Father blesses us with each day and to all of our investigators and members. He truly does love each and every one of us, and I'm so grateful I get to see His blessings first hand in the lives of His children here in the Philippines. I feel so blessed to be serving here among them. Being a servant and disciple of the Lord is truly the best calling in the world.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and are able to notice the many tender mercies Heavenly Father gives to each and every one of us. They're there! We just need to take the time to look, and we'll realize there's more than we ever imagined. :)

Palangga ko kamo!

Love,

Sister Dixon