Sunday, December 29, 2013

Merry Christmas! Feliz Natal!

Back at MSU for a day
December 23, 2013

Hello family!

We had such a wonderful week here--probably one of my most favorite weeks on my mission! 

On Tuesday, I went on exchanges with the MSU sisters.  Sister Anson and I got to go to MSU and work with Sister Richardson!  Holy moly, it was so awesome to be back at my stomping grounds.  I taught some of the people I worked with while I was there and it was so fun to be back.  We even managed to fit in some lessons with Bruce and Yifan!  Unfortunately, Hu Wen Qi is out of town, but it was so fun to see those guys.  Man, I love them so much.  Bruce and Yifan are both doing so well.  Their testimonies are growing stronger and stronger, which strengthens my own.  It is amazing to see people who give up everything for the gospel!

We went back to Williamston Wednesday and we taught scripture study class that night.  We talked about the Christmas story and sang hymns to go along with the verses.  The Spirit was so strong there.  The investigators were so touched and everyone was in awe of the sacrifice Christ has made.  It's especially humbling to think of him as a small baby and think of all of the things he would have to endure.  As President Hess put it in his weekly e-mail, "He came in to the world a helpless baby. From the moment He was born, he stirred up darkness and the wrath of Hell tried to take his life before he reached his first year. He met opposition wherever He went. But He just kept going, always saying that He was here to do His father’s will. In obedience to His father’s will he never faltered, even in the last great act of His suffering, death and atonement. He gave everything He had and invites us to do the same."  How beautiful!  We ended the lesson by watching “Mr. Krueger's Christmas.”  I was touched by his exchange with the newborn Christ child and how we can each have intimate relationships with the Savior as we study the scriptures, pray, and become more like him.  Man, I love Christmas.

We have been finding and looking for new ways to share the gospel.  We met some really awesome potential investigators this week.  They are busy until after the new year, but I am way excited to meet with them!  Also, a lady named Sister Jeffery in our ward had a great idea.  Sister Jeffery visit teaches Sister Nelson, who recently had to move into a retirement home.  Sister Jeffery thought it would be cool for us to do Family Home Evening at the nursing home.  We went to The Marquette and talked to the coordinator and she was stoked by the idea!  We are going to start in January and do FHE's there every other week.  I am so excited!  What a creative way to share the gospel!  The work is progressing here! 

We got to eat with a family this week and they invited us over for a "Shepherd Dinner."  It's a tradition they do where the children dress up like shepherds and they each get to pick their food to contribute to the dinner. Then we sat on blankets and read the story of the shepherds as we ate.  It felt like I was doing the Jerusalem Dinner again!  It was so fun to be with the Conveys.  I am amazed by them inviting us to participate with them in their tradition.  Sister Convey even gave us goodie bags at the end with hand warmers inside!  Hallelujah! 

Which leads nicely into my last point....ICE STORM!!!  This taught us a ton about the blessings of being prepared and how good the members are here in Williamston!  So it started getting really icy on Saturday night (we ate dinner with the Hunters that night and Brother Hunter gave us the sad news about church being canceled).  We were pretty bummed because we were expecting SO many investigators to come!  Sandy was going to finally be able to make it but now we have to push her date back, so we were a little sulky.  But as it turns out, it was a huge blessing because the weather turned out to be crazy!!! We got a call from our district leader on Saturday night telling us we would have to stay in until 12 p.m. and then call before we left.  We woke up Sunday morning and we didn't have any power in our apartment so we had to do studies by flashlight.  Members kept calling us to make sure we were ok and I was so touched at how willing they were to help!  We got a text around 11:50 a.m. that said we would have to stay in the apartment until further notice because the weather was worse than they expected.  We ended up staying in the whole day!  It was crazy, and I definitely missed doing missionary work.  Our power ended up coming back on around 6 p.m. and we got to study a ton, which was a huge blessing.  I guess trees were falling over all around town and the light signals were out.  The roads were really icy and conditions weren't that great.  It was a crazy adventure!  We will see how it affects our Christmas...most of the members we were planning on eating with don't have power and/or water, so this week should be fun.  I am excited for our Christmas plans, though.  We are planning to see lots of members and less-actives so it should be amazing!

I'll talk to you soon,

Sister Dixon

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