THE LAST TWELVE WEEKS

I have very exciting news! I'm going to be a mom again!
I am very excited for the opportunity to train another new missionary. It will be a very fun experience reliving in a sense the first twelve weeks of missionary life for my last twelve weeks.

As new missionaries enter the mission field they begin a training called "The First Twelve Weeks". During these twelve weeks missionaries begin to learn how to recognize the promptings of the Spirit. They learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how this gospel is for everyone.

Just as there is a twelve week training for new missionaries, I feel it important to have a twelve week training for aging missionaries.  I have put together different topics for each week that I feel will help me become a lifelong missionary and disciple of Jesus Christ. Although I only have twelve more weeks to wear this precious name tag that bears Jesus Christ's name, I have a lifetime to become like Him.

During the next twelve weeks I want EVERYONE (who wants to) join me in this little experiment.

Week One: Evidence of God's Existence

I feel that this is something that is important to start with. How can we become more like God or our Savior Jesus Christ if we don't truly know who they are? Just like being grateful helps you to see more and more things you are blessed with; recognizing different ways that proves God's existence is a way to truly understand that He is there. This morning in our companionship study we sang this primary song which I felt was perfect for this subject.

Whenever I hear the song of a bird
Or look at the blue, blue sky,
Whenever I feel the rain on my face
Or the wind as it rushes by,
Whenever I touch a velvet rose
Or walk by our lilac tree,
I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world
Heavenly Father created for me.
He gave me my eyes that I might see
The color of butterfly wings.
He gave me my ears that I might hear
The magical sound of things.
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart:
I thank him rev'rently
For all his creations, of which I'm a part.
Yes, I know Heav'nly Father loves me.

Especially living here in Vermont, I am very aware of the beautiful creations God has blessed us with. During this week I wanted to invite you all to pay special attention and seek to recognize the different ways that you recognize God's existence. It can be with anything! Be creative.

I want to hear from all who are participating in this experiment, to see how you have witnessed and recognized evidences of God's existence this week. My mom will post on her Facebook page the experiment and then all who are participating can comment/post on her page the ways they have seen God's existence. https://www.facebook.com/jone.dixon
 If you aren't friends with my mom on Facebook....you should be, but if not please email me your experiences!

I love this gospel with all my heart and I want everyone to share in the happiness that I have felt being a missionary. I hope that you all have a great week and enjoy the beauties of Gods creations and His existence.

Sister Dixon

FALL IS HERE

Well I'm sorry this little email is super short! I just went on an incredible hike with our district!

We have zone conference this week and Elder Wilson of the Seventy will be coming! It is going to be an incredible week! Happy Fall!......It is here!

LETTING THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG

We had an awesome week this week.
Monday we had a BBQ with our Ward Mission Leader, Bro. Peden and his wife. It was a blast. They live in such a beautiful area. So we grilled hamburgers and enjoyed dinner and the beauties of Vermont as we ate at their picnic table in their yard.

Tuesday we had another great day of service at the thrift store we volunteer at. You should be so proud, I haven't bought anything from there for three weeks. I don't think I've paid more than three dollars for anything I've ever bought there.....but still, this is one of the BEST thrift stores EVER! We went to a Bible study that night with Sharon, an awesome girl that recently joined the church. She is going to Johnson State College and she has been part of the Christian Fellowship group for three years and they have a Bible study every Tuesday evening and she invited us to go to it. It was pretty awesome. We'll probably start going regularly. The people there are great!

Wednesday we had our first official lesson with Judy and Josh. We extended the invitation to be baptized and they accepted! Pretty exciting. They came to church again on Sunday and loved it. Josh even joined the choir.

We had a great day Thursday doing service for one of the members. We helped rip off wall paper on a house they are getting ready to move into. It was great!

Friday was also awesome! Sister Considine told us about a First Friday event that happens the first Friday of every month in her town. She got it all set up so that we could do a family history booth. It was great! We got it all set up and it was perfect because she knew EVERYBODY!!! It made it so much better because a lot more people stopped by because there was a familiar face. A funny part of this event was that when we were told where we could set up, we realized that they put us right next to missionaries from another church. It all went well though and they were extremely nice!

Saturday and Sunday were a solid days filled with appointments and lots of great experiences. We were visiting one of our investigators, Jean on Sunday night and she said she had a surprise for me! She loves to give each missionary something unique as a gift. I think I got the best gift yet..... I got a cat food bag! ha ha it is probably the BEST thing I have ever seen. She saw a lady that was selling bags that were made out of the heavy duty cat food bags. She saw one that was blue and thought of me! I feel so loved here.

It kills me to see how fast time is flying by. I can hardly believe it. I feel like I just got to Lamoille and now we are less than two weeks away from the end of the transfer!

We have so many great things to look forward to this week! I hope you all have an awesome week and know how much I love you!

Keep being amazing!
Love Sister Dixon

LABOR DAY

Happy to report another great week here in Vermont!
I got to go on exchange in Montpelier with Sis. Brown. We came out at the same time so it was fun to get caught up on all that we've experienced on our missions.
The best part of the week was definitely interviews! President and Sister Stoker are incredible. We had a great zone meeting too. I love the meetings we get to have as missionaries. There is nothing better than being surrounded by tons of missionaries! I LOVE IT! It's so motivating and encouraging.

Friday was just filled with miracles. We were walking to a members home (which was about half a mile away) to do some service. On the way there we street contacted, and taught two lessons! It was so awesome! On the way home, the miracles continued. We had just turned the corner when we hear a little boy yell "Sister Blume, Sister Dixon!" We turned around to see that it was TJ one of our investigators sons. We had been trying to set something up to see them that week, but nothing was working out. The timing was perfect when we were walking home so we were able to have a lesson with them too.

Sunday again was great. The two people we had met the week prior that came to church last Sunday came again this Sunday. We weren't able to meet with them this past week due to appointments they had, but we get to see them this week, and they want to be baptized!

We have a very full week ahead of us and I am so excited!!!
I hope you all have a wonderful week! HAPPY SEPTEMBER!

Sister Dixon

DOVER DEJA VU

I left my planner in the apartment which basically tells me what happened this week since all the days tend to run together on a mission. I do have to say though that we had some incredible miracles that occurred this past week! Most of them occurred during the weekend.

Friday we had an awesome lesson with one of our investigators Mike. We had Sister Elmer with us and we shared how we could come to know that the gospel is true. We watched the Restoration video, and the Spirit was super strong. Sister Elmer contributed a lot to the lesson through her testimony. Member present lessons are the best!

I got a little package from my mom that had a part of my Grandma Dixon's history in it, with a part of her mission experience in New England. It was so neat to read! I had no idea that we have been in some of the same areas! Not only did receiving that little history make my day, it made my mission!

Saturday we decided to spend the day in Stowe which I heard was an area that hasn't been worked in all that much, so we figured there is work to do there! Oh boy was there ever?! We had so many great things happen. We had a ton of people we planned to stop by. We went to contact a potential investigator and we pulled into the complex where she lived and there was a lady sitting outside with her kids. We introduced ourselves and she said that she's a member of the church! It was like Dover deja vu! CRAZY! She joined the church when she lived in Las Vegas and hasn't been to church for years. We were able to get her information so we could get her membership records and she also agreed to have us over when we are in the area. After we talked to her for a minute we asked about the lady who we were trying to find and she pointed out which apartment was hers. We went and knocked on her door, and we found out that she is closely connected with a recent convert to the Lamoille Ward. She said she belongs to the church her mom goes to, so she isn't too interested in learning right now. About 15 minutes after we left, we got a call from Vincent who is the recent convert she knows. He had just gotten off the phone with Judy, the potential we had just stopped by, and said he invited them to church and they wanted to come. Both Judy and her son Josh came to church on Sunday! Sunday was just another great day in and of itself. We had dinner with the Wheelers, a sweet couple in the Ward. After dinner we were walking back and happened to walk past one of our investigators home right as he was pulling in. We talked to him for a minute and were able to set up an appointment to meet with his family this week. We walked down to the end of his street to contact a less active member. Right as we were leaving her home there were two ladies out in the street that we were able to talk to. One of them was very interested in what we had to say. We left them both with Plan of Salvation pamphlets. We were also able to get contact information for the one who was interested. It was simply amazing! God is so good to us!

We have an exciting week to look forward to! We have interviews with President Stoker in Montpelier on Thursday and a Zone Meeting, which is always so great and inspirational.

I hope you all enjoy this last week of August! I don't know where the time has gone. It blows my mind everyday how fast time is going by. I absolutely love being a missionary and this is the most important thing that I could be doing right now. Thank you for the love, prayers and support!

I love you all!!!
Peace and Blessings from VERMONT!

Sister Dixon