Wow, what a week! Not gonna lie, the best part of it was going to the Manila Temple!! After almost 18 months of not entering the temple, you sure gain an appreciation for the house of the Lord more than any other way. How very blessed we are to have such a place where we can go for revelation and to get away from the noises and distractions of the world. The reason we went to Manila was to get fingerprinting for our visas, and afterwards had the chance to go to the temple, all before heading home the very same day. It was a pretty exhausting day, but we had so many awesome experiences as well. We got to see Sister Winward, our batch mate from the MTC who went to Iloilo! It was a very happy reunion and she is doing amazing. :) We also met a sister named Rich Rifereal who works at the airport who's the only member of the church. She told us several experiences she's had in sharing her testimony and example with her boss and co-workers...she's amazing and we were all very inspired by her. She served in Bicol mission and her very last convert was her grandpa! How neat is that? She ate dinner with us at the airport, and as we were leaving she said, "Perform miracles and where you're planted, bloom!" Even though we were only with her for maybe an hour, I could definitely feel and see that she has followed her very own advice in her life and work field. She's amazing!
On the plane and in the airport we had quite a few awesome finding experiences as well. Several of the missionaries ended up sitting by someone on the flight or talking to someone in the bathroom who lives in. their. area. One of those cases was with Sister Van Slooten. The ride to Bacolod is about an hour, so she was able to teach the entire restoration lesson to the man sitting next to her (who lives in her area!) and he fully committed to come to church on Sunday. How awesome is that? The man sitting next to me actually slept most of the trip, but when he was awake, I was able to talk to him for a little bit and give him a Restoration pamphlet. He was a very nice man and said he wouldn't mind having the missionaries visit him when he's not busy with work (he's the President of a company in Iloilo). We had several other amazing things happen on our trip, and it was just awesome to be with so many other missionaries. The elders and sisters in my batch are such powerful, dedicated servants of the Lord, and I could feel such a force of goodness coming from each of them and their examples. How did I get so lucky to be sent to this mission with such incredible missionaries! I truly believe the Philippines Bacolod mission is the best mission in the world. :)
Our trip to Manila left us out of our area for a few days, which was kind of a bummer for our area, but we had several blessings in being able to do member exchanges more than once in order to visit all our investigators and still have some awesome experiences with our lessons and investigators. And on Saturday, Rosene Tacuyan was baptized and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost on Sunday. :) She's such a sweetheart and such a strong part of her family. Her brother and dad will be following soon with their own baptisms, so we're pretty excited about that. :)
I'm so grateful for my mission. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully express just how grateful I am that Heavenly Father guided me here, and how much love I feel for the Filipinos, my call as a full-time disciple of Jesus Christ, the Gospel, and of course for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He lives and that He is the head of this Church.
I hope everyone has a fabulous week! I heard conference was great, and we're looking forward to seeing it this weekend. :) Love you all so very much! Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers!
Palangga ko kamo. :)
Love,
Sister Dixon
Manila Temple
Sister Canimo was one of Jessica's trainers.
She is home now from her mission and working across from the temple in Manila.
The baptism of Rosene Tacuyan
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