"..we had a BAPTISM!!!!!!"

This week was absolutely amazing and full of miracles! And the best part? WE HAD A BAPTISM!!!!!!!!!!!!  It was super crazy how it all worked out, but it was a huge blessing. Wednesday we were at piso for medio dia/language study, and while we were there the phone rang, and Elder Ferrer answered it, and it was a lady who said she was a menos activo, but she had a friend who wanted to be baptized this week, and she asked if we could go talk with him right then.  So Elder Ferrer said yes, but when we found out the address it wasn't in our area, and he told her to call the other missionaries.  But then she asked if he knew Elder Cerqueda, who happened to be his companion earlier in the mission, and when Elder Ferrer told the lady that, she said that she wanted us to teach him, not the other missionaries.  From there we called the Hermanas because it was their area, and made sure we could teach him, then went to the visit, where we found out that he had been taught everything, but before hadn't wanted to be baptized, but that he did now because he is leaving to Ecuador Thursday and wanted to be baptized before he left.  So we told him that he could be baptized Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and then as a joke Elder Ferrer said he could be baptized Sunday at 8 in the morning.  Yup.  He wanted to be baptized at 8 in the morning on Sunday. So on Sunday we woke up at 3 in the morning to go fill the font and get everything set up, and after making sure everything was good we went into the chapel and slept on the benches, with an alarm set for 7 so we could turn off the font and be ready for when everybody came to the baptism.  However, I woke up at 6:30 because I had to go to the bathroom, and just as a thought I went to check on the font, which somehow, didn't have any water in it.  The plug in the font doesn't work!  For the next hour and a half we made a new plug with a plastic bag and a bunch of rocks, then we put the water on as high as it could go, which means it was freezing cold water, and we were filing buckets and dumping those in just so it would go fast enough.  It was absolutely insane!  In the end though, the baptism was amazing, and somehow the water wasn't cold.  It was so much fun, and there were so many miracles, and being with Elder Ferrer is so much fun....when I can understand him.  His southern Spanish accent really throws me for a loop and its super hard to understand. But, slowly I'm learning.

 

Also, it was pretty crazy this week with a bunch of other stuff...such as the fact that elders Ferrer and Bascope bought airsoft guns and we have been having wars in our piso....it has been crazy.  Also, at the beginning of the week elder West was sick, and I was chosen to stay in piso with him all of Tuesday.   I cleaned a lot, read a lot, and slept a little too.   It was pretty boring though.  Oh well.

 

I also got to play guitar this week!!!!  We were eating at a members house, and one of the kids mentioned that they were learning to play guitar, and when I said I played, they forced me to play some songs for them.....ok, they really didn't have to force me, they just asked if I wanted to and I may or may not have gotten a little too excited about it....anyway, it turned into a really good lesson about music and the importance of it, and we used the D&C scripture the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, ect.  It was super great.  Oh, and the food was really good too:) so, that was pretty much my week. Crazy!!!!

 

love you all,

 

Elder Dixon

New address

Well, this week was pretty crazy!!!  I'm still trying to figure out where I am and who everybody is and what's going on exactly, but it has been a blast, and the best part is we already had a baptism:)  yup:)  her name is Isela, and she is from Peru, and the funny part about it is,  she thought she was a member before since she got baptized in 1993.  It turns out that she has no records or anything, so on paper she never got baptized, and we talked to President and everything and he said she needed to do it again.  Elder Ferrer said that it was a present for us, because she already knows everything and it was super easy for her to pass the interview.  

 

During the whole baptism service (which was secret because she didn't want the ward to know she wasn't really a member)  I was thinking about why she had to be baptized again, because obviously Heavenly Father knows everything and so I wondered why this couldn't all be worked out up there, but then it hit me.   Her sisters are inactive, and they were there, and the
Spirit was so strong.  I think that's the reason Heavenly Father let this happen. I really think it was so that her sisters would want to start coming back to the truth. It was really touching to be able to watch her be baptized, and she afterwards gave her sisters a huge hug and all three of them were bawling.  It was super neat.  

 

I know that this church is true, because I can feel the Spirit, and because it is so strong. That's why I am here in Spain for two years, with nothing except my scriptures and a suit.  Ok, I have a bit more than that, but still….  I left a ton of stuff and people back home that,  ya,  I miss them. but I am here now doing this work for a purpose and yesterday during the baptism it really hit me again exactly what that purpose was.

 

I love this gospel with all my heart. Thank you all for your support. It really means a lot to me.

 

Love,

 

Elder Dixon

 

 

here is the new address:

C/ Padilla 204 esc 3 atico 3

08013 Barcelona

Spain

 

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so this week was absolutely crazy!!!!!! It was crazy Monday with Elder Gil about to leave, because then we found out he couldn't until Thursday because he was waiting for a package from his mom that only he could pick up. So that was crazy trying to figure out.  Then Tuesday was crazy because it was New Years, and it was super fun too because we went to eat at Maria Angleses house and she is an amazing cook.  Then Wednesday is where the fun begins.

So, every month we have a Zone Focus in Llerida, and I was going to do a intercambio with the zone leaders (I don't know how to say that in English, but it's like a split with other missionaries) and so after the Zone Focus I went with the Zone Leader to Dominos to eat pizza.

While we were there, Elder Carrigan, the Zone Leader, got a call, handed it to me and said, it's the President. Well, I answered, and with a piece of pizza in my hand and a super shocked look on my face, President said that I was going to Barcelona instead of Elder Gil and that I needed to be on a train back to Zaragoza that night to pack, then get on a train the next morning at 9:45 to Barce.  AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, so there was that crazy stuff on Wednesday cause then I didn't get back to Zaragoza until nine, where I only had time to say goodbye to Maria Angles because Elder Coombs already had a visit with her, then only an hour that night to pack, and two more the next morning. Holy cow I was so stressed. It was crazy!

Thursday I arrived in Barce, and my new companion is Elder Ferrer. He is super great, but I can't understand him, because he is native and from Granada - which is the hardest accent to understand. I honestly cannot understand him at all, but he tries to speak without the accent for me so that is nice. He lived in the states for 8 months so he speaks English too which is a plus. Anyway, he is great.

I'm still adjusting to the change, its super weird, and Barce is huge, but it's really great.  Oh, and we live about 3 blocks away from the Sagrada Familia, (a Basilica Cathedral you should Google) so that's pretty neat too.  (Sorry I don't know my new address yet.....)

So, that was the story of my crazy week.  It's been really fun here so far though.  Oh, and I forgot that this week was transfers week, so that was interesting too...haha:) the crazy life of Elder Dixon!!

So, I just want to throw in one little spiritual thought.  If you go read the scripture in 2 Nephi 2:25 that says Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy….well, if you look at the footnote for joy, it just may knock your socks off :) 

Well, I hope you all had a great holiday season, 'cuz I sure did!

Con Amor,

Elder Dixon

Here are a couple of picture of Ricky!

Merry Christmas

Well, this week was a blast!!  It's strange though because not that much happened, so this time this blog is probably gonna be super short.  Really, all that happened was.... Christmas!!!!!!!!  It was super fun, and we got so much food!!!!!!   It was really great.  However, nobody wants to meet with us until the 8th of January because of the festivities, so that's kind of a bummer.   Oh well.  We have been able to get a lot organized in our area and we have been able to visit menos activos a bunch.  

 

Christmas was also really great because I got to talk to my family through skype, which was awesome.  I can't believe I have been out for almost 4 months.   Where did all the time go????  It's crazy!!!  

 

The other thing that is crazy about this week is that Elder Gil is leaving to Barçe because of his visa stuff....I don't really understand it, but that's what's happening, so now our piso is back down to 4 elders again. Weird.  It feels really empty. Oh, the other thing I learned this week is that I can't find Sharpies, or duct tape.  Sad times....haha :)

 

I also was able to finish the Book of Mormon again this week.  I did the December challenge again!!  Whooo!!! Anyway, that was my week. 

 

Love you all!!

 

Elder Dixon