MAINEIAC

 First week of the transfer=success!

It's been a crazy week, but it has been great! It has been a whole new experience being in a trio. Everything takes so much longer to do, but we'll get everything figured out soon! My new companions are Sister Jackman and Sister Berg. Sister Jackman came out with me and we served in the same district the whole 6 months I was in Newport, and she was in Lyndon! So we know each other and have been on quite a few exchanges. Sister Berg has been out about 10 months. Her last area was Montpelier Vermont.

So I don't have a ton of time to email today so I will just share some highlights and miracles from the week!

We'll start with the miracles! So ELIZA HAS A BAPTISMAL DATE! she is scheduled to be baptized on Feb. 1st so everyone please keep her in your prayers! we are so excited for her.

Sunday was a big miracle too! The Tippetts made us cookies to take around to our investigators or whoever we wanted to go and see and because of that we were able to stop by 6 peoples homes and had great conversations with them and established really good relationships with them too!

Another highlight and miracle this week was the weather! We had several days of warm weather....well we now consider upper 40's to be warm. We even got to go running outside three days in a row! Talk about a miracle! I forgot how much I love being able to exercise outside! 

The work here is gong so well and I absolutely love it! Sorry this email is short, but I hope you all know how much I love being out here serving a mission!

Peace and Blessings from ME

Sister Dixon

TREE-OH

Well transfers are here again and I'm staying in Saco! Sister Cowley, my companion, is heading out. She's so great that they have to send in two more sisters to replace her, so I get to be in a trio! Wohoo! This will be a fun experience, I'm sure.

This week was so great. We saw so many miracles and just had a lot of great things happen.

I was kind of getting the vibe that Sis. Cowley was going to leave because things kept falling into place with us being able to contact people that we hadn't been able to contact throughout this last transfer, and if she were to have left before we contacted these people, I wouldn't have really known who they were. So we saw a lot of miracles with those types of occurrences this week, which was awesome!

We got a new investigator this week. Her name is Janice, and she works at the library we go to every week to email. We had a good, and slightly funny first lesson with her. She had a lot of questions that would all be answered if we shared with her the message of the restoration. She had these wonderful questions and the second we would begin to try and answer them she'd cut us off and say "and that's what I have a question about" and go off on how she had a question on what we were trying to answer. We had quite a hard time trying to answer her questions, ha ha ha but it was all a good learning experience. I'm sure our lessons will go a little better in the future! Sister Cowley and I had a good laugh about it afterward.

We set a baptismal date for Eliza this past week for February 1st! Unfortunately she didn't make it to church yesterday so we had to drop the date. She is so close!

On Saturday since it was the night of transfer calls we stuck to tradition of eating out and celebrating our transfer by treated ourselves to Olive Gardern :) :) :) yummm! Receiving the transfer call that night that Sister Cowley was leaving wasn't super surprising. Although, I was pretty suprised to be put in a trio though, so that will be fun!

Sunday was great! We had an awesome dinner with the Tippetts and Colberts and with Rae, Faith, and Marge(three ladies who live in a retirement community). It was such a fun dinner and great way to end of this transfer.

I wanted to share something we learned in Gospel Principles yesterday about Faith in Jesus Christ. We were discussing some of the blessings that come from having faith in Christ. We went to the book of Enos in the Book of Mormon. Enos prayed mightily for forgiveness of his sins and when he was forgiven he asked God how it was done. This is the answer he received from God. "And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole."

Not only was this an incredible miracle that came to Enos because of his faith in Jesus Christ, but it's incredible what faith can do for us. Not only does faith result in forgiveness, but it results in being made whole. Whether that means whole in our physical ailments, our mental, emotional or spiritual challenges or whole in heart, through faith we can be made whole. I definitely have found this to be true as I have been serving my mission. I have seen it happen in the lives of many people I am blessed to meet and I have seen it in my life also. I have such a love for this Gospel and the hope, happiness and healing that comes from it. I absolutely love being a missionary. It is by far the greatest decision I have ever made.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Peace and Blessings

Sister Dixon

Many Are Cold, But Few Are Frozen

Greetings from Maine! 

ps this picture does not give the waves justice. They were huge!!!!

This week has been insane and oh so good!
Here is a little rundown of the week!
Tuesday we had some good appointments with two of our investigators, Melody and Eliza. That night we went and helped the Corbetts get Salli and Buffles house in order. We are finally getting there! We had to be in an hour early since it was New Years Eve, so President Stoker asked us to set some goals!
Wednesday morning we went over to the Tippetts for New Years breakfast, then we all went over and helped the Corbetts. We basically spent the majority of the day there, but we got it done! It was truly a miracle. It was a complete transformation!
Thursday our car was grounded, so that meant we got to walk around for the day. It was super cold outside! It was unreal. We had a lot of fun though.
Friday we had a very full day of teaching and planning. We then went on exchange with the Portland Sisters. This time I stayed in Saco and Sister Cowley went to Portland.
Saturday we helped one of our investigators move. It's kind of a bitter sweet experience. Luckily they're moving to the area just north of us so we'll be handing her off to the Elders there so we'll still be able to hear about how she is doing. We had a great lesson with Eliza and Linda Saturday also. Eliza is so close to being ready for baptism which is awesome! We had a really neat lesson with Linda too. We asked her who she knew that needed the gospel in their lives and she gave us 5 referrals!!!! It was insane. The Spirit was so strong, it was quite the neat experience.
Sunday was a very full day too! Church was great. We had a lot of teaching appointments with some wonderful people too!
This week has just been so full of great experiences and learning opportunities. What a great way to start off the year!
Here's a little thought I'd share of a scripture from this week on missionary work. Isaiah 55:10,11

10: For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11:So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 

All the efforts we make to share the gospel are never in vain. Even though we don't always see the direct result of our efforts, God uses us as His mouthpieces, and just like this scripture says, nothing we do to share the gospel will return to Him void, it will fulfill His purposes.

I hope you are all keeping up on your New Years goals!
I love you all and hope you have a great week!!!

Sister Dixon

WEEK 28 (DEC. 30) BRING ON 2014

Wohoo this week starts the new year! What an exciting time! It's pretty awesome because I basically get to spend this entire next year as a missionary. Doesn't get much better than that. I do have to say that this Christmas was awesome! It was SO WONDERFUL seeing everyone through skype! Oh man it seemed like a dream! Thank you all for the wonderful Christmas letters/cards/gifts etc. You all made this a Christmas that I will never forget!!!!

This week flew by. We have been continuing doing service with the Corbets getting Sally and Buffels house cleaned out. I made our traditional Christmas breakfast on Christmas Eve this year since we were at the Tippetts house on Christmas morning. I just can't imagine a Christmas without french toast and buttermilk syrup ha ha.

Christmas Day was great. We spent the morning and early afternoon at the Tippetts. We had dinner with the Pelon family and then we went to our Relief Society Presidents house and played Yahtzee and Skipbo. Quite a great Christmas.

Thursday we had a really good district meeting on faith. As a district we are really focusing our efforts on increasing our faith to find more people to teach. What we are doing is the "5 If's of Finding" 1. Fire Desire 2. Revelation through Resources 3. Plan to Act 4. Act the Plan 5. Expect Miracles. So basically if we fire our desire to find, use the resources we have(prayer, scriptures,friends,family etc.), plan and act, we WILL see miracles. I am super excited to put this to work!

We heard that one of the sweetest ladies in the ward was is the hospital so we went to visit her Thursday night. She basically had a cold that turned ugly. Her kidneys started to fail and she had to be put on a respirator. I'm not super knowledgeable about medical business, but it was super sad to see. The good news is is that we also stopped by last night and she was off the respirator and was up and talking to us.

Nothing else super notable happened this week, but all in all it was an AWESOME week. I absolutely love the Christmas time because we get to remember our Savior. I hope that the Spirit of Christmas will linger extra long this year.

The great thing about new years is that it is a fresh beginning. A time where we get to reflect on the year and all that happened. This year has definitely been unlike any other. I have loved being able to spend half of this year being a missionary. I look forward to this new year and all that will happen in the next twelve months. So I invite you all to join me in setting Christ-centered goals this new year. May we all strive to be a little better, a little happier, a little kinder, and a little more like our Savior.

I love you all and wish you a very happy and safe New Year!

Sister Dixon

WEEK 27 (DEC. 23) MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ME!

Merry Christmas from Maine!!!!

I can't even believe that Christmas is here already. Almost everyday my companion and I comment on how the Christmas season feels so different out here. The days pretty well blend together so it's hard to believe that Christmas is in two days! I'm so excited!

This week has been great! I went on exchange to Portland this past Monday. They live on a beach house so that was kind of a fun experience. When we went out on Tuesday morning there were people surfing!!!! CRAZY!!! There's like two feet of snow on the ground and they were surfing! We got another good snow storm on Tuesday night.

On Thursday we had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators named Eliza. She is 17 years old, and is great! We are having her pray about a baptism date, and she came to church yesterday, so she is progressing!!! It's so exciting.

We made Chicken Alfredo for our coordination meeting on Thursday so that was fun to bring a little taste of home to New England.

Friday we had another great lesson with another one of our amazing investigators Linda. We taught her the Stop Smoking Program and she is super excited to do it. She has wanted to quit for a long time, but was struggling to do it permanently. We have another lesson with her this Friday so we'll so how everything went!

We did some service on Saturday with continuing to help get Sally and Buffles (members who go to Florida for the winter) get their home cleaned out. So a little background on Sally and Buffles. Buffles is Sally's mom and is 104 years old. She joined the church when she was 98, went through the temple when she was 99 and is still an active member at 104! The church has to be true! Ha ha I could hardly believe it when I heard about their story.

Sunday was great! The cute primary kids made us stockings and filled them with little goodies! The ward members treat us so well.

Each and every day gets better and better. The longer I'm out here, the more I love being a missionary and the more I dislike how fast the time goes by.

This morning was pretty awesome because in my personal studies I finished the Book of Mormon! It was the first time I have read it all the way through as a missionary, and I do have to say it almost seemed like a completely different book. I absolutely love the Book of Mormon and the happiness and peace that comes from reading it everyday.

Since it is the Christmas Season I thought it would be appropriate to give a little Christmas invitation. Our mission president asked us missionaries to think of three gifts we could give to the Savior this Christmas. As I thought of this I realized that no matter what we give Him, He will always give us so much more in return. Everything that we have truly belongs to God. The only thing that is ours is our agency. So as we give our will to God and allow Him to help us become who He wants us to become that is a gift that can help us grow closer to Him and also help us reach our full potential. So my invitation to you is to also think of gifts you can give to the Savior this year so that we can all remember the true meaning of CHRISTmas.

I love you all and can't wait to see everyone through Skype! I hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2874125972001

Sister Dixon

WEEK 26 (DEC. 9) MAIN IN MAINE

Craziest week of my life!!! I feel like I just finished the first week of my mission all over again. This past week has been absolutely insane and so great at the same time.

Last Monday was quite the emotional day ha ha. We had a great day seeing members and playing at the church, but man it was so hard to say goodbye, especially to the young women in the branch. They are the best! 


Packing is no fun. I didn't think that I had collected all that much stuff these past six months, but zipping up my suitcases was a little harder than I remember.....oops.

Tuesday morning we headed out around 5:30am and headed for Manchester. Transfer meetings are a little nerve wracking if ya know what I mean. I was assigned to Saco Maine! I made it to the coast! Woot Woot! My new companion is Sister Cowley and she is great! We served in the same district my first transfer in Vermont, so we had been on exchanges before. We technically live in Biddeford. We live on Main Street...hence the subject line Main in Maine ha ha(thanks Mom that was a good one).

The work here is booming! I love it! It is so so so so so different than Vermont. I'm not used to seeing people and cars.....and shopping!!!! I kind of miss all the cows. I even put away my big winter coat for the week because it was so much warmer here, and there was no snow.

My second day here we were walking back from a less active members home when three cops go running past us. Ha ha yep, we walked through a police chase. Don't worry Mom, I have my pepper spray.....always. That wasn't quite the welcome I was hoping to get coming into this new area, but hey at least it's a good journal entry. I guess some guy had robbed 9 stores and so they put the town on lock down. Good news is is that they found him.

We have awesome investigators here and it has been so fun to meet them. I am so excited that I get to be in this area and see the progression they are making.

The ward here is the bomb! They are very missionary minded and are excited to do the work.

We had a Relief Society activity on Saturday and it was a hit. We had lunch and made Christmas crafts. Sis. Smith from the ward invited her nonmember friend and her friend came and brought her daughter and they both had a great time.

Sunday was quite the day. I was quite overwhelmed with all the information that I have been trying to soak in all through the week so my brain and my spirits were a little fried. President and Sister Hawkes from the mission presidency decided to visit our ward that day. They asked if they could meet with us after church. What a meeting that was. We talked about the area and how the work was going here. He then asked how we were doing. Being the prideful person that I am I tried to say that I was doing ok and that I was adjusting to the area. I had been considering asking for a priesthood blessing that day, but kept talking myself out of it. God knew that I was too stubborn to ask for a blessing when it was something that I really needed so at the end of our meeting with President Hawkes asked if either of us wanted a blessing. The blessing I then received was one of the most spiritual experiences that I have had. You might be wondering why I'm sharing this experience, but from this experience my testimony was greatly strengthened. I was blown away with how much God loves us individually and truly cares for our well-being. He sent someone there, that day to help me when I needed it most. It's interesting how God allows us to feel so low and then shoots us upward a million times higher than we've ever been. I absolutely know that God knows us as individuals and that He knows everything that we need and knows exactly how we feel, and that He truly cares. What a great blessing it is to have a knowledge that we have a Father in Heaven.

I absolutely love this Gospel and I love being a missionary. What better time than now to be a missionary than when the work is truly hastening, and during this Christmas season! I love you all so much and wish you so much happiness during this CHRISTmas season!

Have a great week and stay warm.

Sister Dixon

WEEK 25 (DEC. 2) HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME....I'M BEING TRANSFERRED!!!!!!!!!!

It looks like my time in the NEK is now up. I have to say that the past six months have been the hardest and the happiest months of my life! I am so proud to say that Newport Vermont is my birthplace....in mission terminology. I have absolutely loved it here!!!! The members are so incredible and I am going to miss them so much....being transferred is almost worse than leaving home! Vermont has truly become my home these past six months.

I am happy to report that Thanksgiving was AWESOME! We made Texas Roadhouse rolls....Thanks for the recipe Whit! They were a hit! We went to Marston and Becky Cubit's home which is basically like my family out here. After dinner there we went to Mark and Sharmain Cubit's, so it was a Cubit Thanksgiving ha ha.

Friday they had a lighting ceremony and live nativity at the Joseph Smith Memorial. We were hoping to take our investigator Danielle, but she ended up having to work. Sarah, one of the youth in the branch was available to go, so Haily and her boyfriend Tyler drove us all down there and we had an incredible evening at the memorial. It was pretty neat, at the end of the program they sang silent night and a big shooting star went across the sky. It was beautiful! There is definitely a special spirit at the Joseph Smith Memorial.

Saturday we had Thanksgiving again with the Sandersons. Yep, the branch takes good care of us out here. And of course transfer calls came Saturday night. I honestly didn't feel like anything was going to happen so when the phone rang, my heart sank! Sister Fuller is going to hold the fort down here in Orleans, and I'm packing my bags....happy birthday to me. They are having us go all the way to transfer meeting in Manchester so I'm guessing I'll go to somewhere in New Hampshire or Maine.....only time will tell. Any predictions?!? People told me that I should avoid Caribou Maine because it's even colder than Newport.....so that's probably where I'll be going ha ha ha.

I didn't sleep much Saturday night ha ha

Sunday was good, but kind of hard. I love the people here in the Newport Branch. After church we went and said some goodbyes. We went to the Sandersons and to Marston and Becky Cubits. Bro. Cubit gave me a blessing before we left so I know I'll be just fine as I head into my new area.

Today is kind of a really neat day. 9 months ago today I went through the Mt. Timpanogos Temple to receive my endowments. 6 months ago today I was set apart as a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 22 years ago today I was born into the most incredible family! How blessed am I?? I hear a lot how serving a mission is a sacrifice, but the blessings that I receive so far outnumber the sacrifices. I feel spoiled with all the blessings that I receive and for the peace and comfort I feel, even when everything inside of me would normally be freaking out! I am very excited for what is ahead and I can't wait for the new people that I will be able to meet and the great experiences that await me in New England!

So in light that I am being transferred I thought it would be appropriate to talk a bit about aligning our will to God's will. Being a missionary Hymn 270 takes on a very literal meaning. I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go. There are many instances in our lives when we don't completely understand or comprehend the reasons why God gives us certain challenges, but that is where faith comes in. God knows exactly where He needs us and where we will learn and grow into what He knows we can become. I'd like to invite you all to take the advice of third verse with me. "There's surely somewhere a lowly place in earths harvest field so wide. Where I may labor through life's short day for Jesus, the Crucified So trusting my all to thy tender care, and knowing thou lovest me, I'll do thy will with a heart sincere: I'll be what you want me to be." I know that God has great things in store for all of His children. When we pray for the guidance to become who He knows we can become, I absolutely know He will help us.

I love you all so much and wish you a very happy week! I'm off to eat blueberry birthday pancakes at the Sandersons ha ha.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes!!!!

Much love,
Sister Dixon

WEEK 24 (NOV. 25)- ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

My heart is truly full of the Thanksgiving spirit right about now. There is nowhere in the world that is better for me to be at this time than right where I am. I LOVE being a missionary! Being in the poorest part of Vermont I have learned a lot about how truly blessed I am. The people here are amazing and I absolutely love them. They are the most humble and sincere people I have ever met and they give all they have to those in need. I learn so much from them every single day.

We've entered in to what is called the "Dark Hours" out here in the NEK. It gets dark at 4pm and these people are up when the suns up and down when its down. So we've got to get creative to keep the work moving. The work has been a little slow, but our hope is that the holiday's will soften peoples hearts to listen to the message of the restored Gospel. We've thought of building snowmen families and teaching people how our families can be together forever. Ha ha ha you gotta do what you gotta do out here in Vermont. Speaking of families, I have been thinking a lot on the things I am grateful for, and the list is ongoing. I truly feel so blessed to be a missionary and to have been raised in the Gospel. I have the most incredible family in the world that I get to be with for eternity! I have the opportunity to share this wonderful news with the people of New England. I am also oh so grateful for the support and encouragement that I receive every single day from all of you. I truly feel the power of the prayers that are offered in behalf of missionaries. This work is hard and is impossible to do alone.

I love you all so much and am so very grateful for all of you! I hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving and remember all the things that you have to be grateful for. I'll leave you with a scripture in Alma. Alma 34:38...."live in thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings which he doth bestow upon you."

I LOVE YOU ALL AND WISH YOU A VERY VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Sister Dixon