Mission Leadership Training

March 10, 2014

Hello family!!!!

First of all, YAAAAAAAYYYYYY KIRSTEN!!!!! I am so so sososooooo excited for you.  It's definitely NOT what I expected but the good news is Uruguay doesn't have visa problems :)  I read a different e-mail from mom first that only mentioned Argentina so that's where I thought you were going until I watched the video.  Congratulations!  I am so excited we get to be sister sisters!

Well I really loved this verse in Ether 6:3 this week:

And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness.

I thought I would share some of the "stones" of the week.  I am grateful that Heavenly Father always prepares a way and that we are surrounded by so many amazing blessings.  I like to think of the darkness as the worries and doubts and fears we have in our lives.  I have seen so many “stones” reminding me that Heavenly Father will NEVER leave us alone and that He will ALWAYS prepare a way for what He commands us to do.

Stone #1--preparing a way to teach during spring break.  Sister Smith and I were pretty nervous for spring break because most of our investigators were leaving.  But I knew I should trust in the Lord and it would all work out.  Turns out, we got permission to Skype our investigators over break and teach lessons to them using members’ computers!  It was such a blessing and such a cool experience.  Technology is an amazing way to share the gospel!!  We also were able to contact so many people who we haven't been able to reach in a while and we were just so grateful for the great week it was.  It didn't feel like spring break one bit (mostly because we were so blessed with things to keep us busy, but also because it was still pretty cold outside haha)!

Stone #2--the scriptures have been so great for me lately.  I am grateful for the love I have developed for them throughout my time serving Heavenly Father.  There have been so many times when I struggle with faith or patience and I can find the peace and calm my soul desires by reading the words of God.

Stone #3--2 people from Brazil at church on Sunday!  Apparently a HUGE group of Brazilian students came to MSU this week to start some block classes.  One of them is LDS and he posted on the ward Facebook page that he and a friend would like to come to church on Sunday.  They both came and Sister Fehlman (a visa waiter who is also serving in the MSU ward) and I tried to speak Portuguese to them.  It was terrible but it was still so cool to see there is definitely a reason why I am here.

Stone #4--Aje!  She is our top investigator right now and we are blessed to be teaching her!  She is progressing so well and is planning to get baptized this next weekend.  We are having a stake women's conference before her baptism and she volunteered to be an usher for the conference--already a kingdom builder!  She has such an amazing testimony of the gospel.  We taught her a little while ago and she was saying the closing prayer and said, "Thank you for the sister missionaries.  I honestly feel happier than I ever have been before in my life."  The gospel truly does bring us happiness.  It's such a testimony builder to see how happy it makes other people as well!!

Stone #5--The people in this mission.  Honestly, I would probably be depressed to still be in Michigan if it wasn't for the AMAZING people here.  I love the missionaries I get to serve with and the ward members and the people we get to talk to every day on campus. They truly have kept me going and I will be forever grateful for these Michiganders.

These stones are the lights in my life right now and I am so grateful for all the blessings surrounding us.  

The picture is from MLC this week.  I got to see Sister Christiansen and Sister Probert again which was so much fun!  And I learned so much.  President Hess is amazing!

Love,

Sister Dixon