WEEK 21 (NOV. 4)- HOW MUCH WOOD WOULD A WOOD CHUCK CHUCK

You will never guess what we did this week.......well I guess you probably could. We did some serious wood projects! and we have many more planned for this week too! Tis the season! I absolutely love it!!!

Not going to lie, the beginning of this week was stressful! Transfers change everything and it takes some time getting used to a new companion and figuring out how to work with each other. But now things are rolling! My companion Sister Fuller is awesome! We get along extremely well and have a blast doing missionary work!
It was really neat because this week, every lesson we had with investigators, a member of the branch came with us. It makes the BIGGEST difference when members come. We concluded our forty-day fast this Saturday with a fireside. President Goodrich, from the Mission Presidency, came with his wife and they spoke to the branch on how they can become better member missionaries. It was awesome and we had a great turn out! Hopefully this will result in more people to teach!

We had a fun Relief Society enrichment night and had yummy soup and talked about what to put in winter car kits....they're a good idea if you don't have one. Amber, one of our investigators, came and had a blast, so that was a success. When you get a bunch of ladies together and laughing oh man it makes for a pretty fun night. I love this branch.

Halloween was pretty fun! We did some wood at the Sanderson's and they sent us home with dinner since we had to be in at five. Let me tell you a bit about the Sandersons....They are great! They used to manage a restaurant so you can just imagine how good their meals are....yum! We deep cleaned our apartment and just had a good ol time being locked inside!

Friday and Saturday we did service with the Cubit clan. It was quite the event. We had tons of fun and we got a lot of wood taken care of! My favorite part was using the splitting moll/maul/mol who knows how to spell it? All I know is that it is NOT an ax ha ha ha.

Saturday night like I said was our fireside and it was so so so good! Everything turned out great.

Sunday was good! We were all invited to fast for missionary opportunities in our stake. So the entire stake was fasting for missionary work! Danielle came to church! She hasn't been since the first part of September so we were excited that she made it this week!!!

I feel that it would only be appropriate for me to bear my testimony on the power of fasting, since we've been doing a lot of that lately with the forty-day fast. We all know that prayers can be powerful, but when we add fasting to our prayers, the flow of blessings are unstoppable. Preach my Gospel says "Fasting and prayer go together. When we fast and pray with faith, we are more receptive to receiving answers to our prayers and blessings from the Lord. He promises us that He will guide us continually." My testimony of this principle is growing more and more as I've been out here. I love the story of Alma and how he came to know for himself that the Gospel is true. Alma 5:45-46


45 And this is not all. Do ye not suppose that I know of these things myself? Behold, I testify unto you that I do know that these things whereof I have spoken are true. And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety?
46 Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me.

Gaining a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel isn't a one time event. It is the process of a lifetime! Never before have I questioned my testimony of the church. Growing up I was surrounded by friends and family who supported, believed and had testimonies of the truthfulness of the church. Coming out on a mission, I soon realized that there are SO many people who have no idea about this gospel. I was a little scared because time and time again I hear that you cannot convert beyond your own conversion. This made me look into how far I am converted to this gospel. I am surrounded by incredible missionaries and members whose testimonies are so strong and for a while I wondered why I didn't feel that mine added up to their magnitude. So you might be wondering where this story is going...so am I ha ha. Reading the experience of Alma and his quest to be fully converted to the gospel helped me to know exactly what I needed to do to make sure that I am converted myself. As I have spent a lot of time fasting and praying, I have found that it I didn't need to gain a completely new testimony, I just needed to realize the testimony that I already had, and have had all my life and continue working on strengthening it. Fasting is such an incredible way to secure blessings from God. I love the scripture in Matthew 6:18

18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

When we fast, God will reward us with what we stand in need of! Probably not in the way we would expect, but it's always in the way that is best for us. When we fast we become physically weak, but spiritually strong. I have gained such a strong testimony of fasting. I know that we can receive answers to prayers, increased testimony, health and strength....the blessings are endless when we fast.

I encourage all of you to recognize the things that you might stand in need of spiritually or physically and to fast and pray for help and added strength from the Lord. I know that when you do this, God will bless you and answer your prayers!

I love you all and I LOVE THIS GOSPEL!

Have a great week!

Sister Dixon