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

Merry Christmas From Spain!...also this includes 2 letters from Elder Dixon

December 23, 2013

Hola, y Feliz Navidad a todas!!! Thank you all for all the cards and notes you have sent me, I really really loved reading them....I probably should have waited till Christmas, but still, I really enjoyed them. 

 

So, this week was crazy. when we found out Elder Wiscombe was leaving, stuff just got hectic around here in Zaragoza, because Maria Angeles wanted him to baptize her, and we made it work!!  But for those two days, we were running everywhere, and it was super crazy - super fun, but I'm still recovering.  Yesterday she was confirmed too, and she is absolutely amazing.

 

Also, another thing that was crazy was that I got to go on a three day companionship exchange, starting right after Elder Wiscombe left.  It was really great, and during those three days I helped set 4 baptismal dates.....the first four in that area of Zaragoza in about 5 months.  It was really a great experience. 

 

Oh, another thing that was really great this week was we got to see the belen (nativity) and we went ice skating, which was a ton of fun. I really love being on a mission. Also, to those friends who have started their papers or turned them in, Way To Go!!!!!  That is super neat, and I can't wait to see where you guys go.

 

Love you all!!!! And Merry Christmas!!

 

Elder Dixon

December 16, 2013

Wow, this week has been crazy, again. And also a little bit sad. Well, more bittersweet. Anyway, this week we went to Llerida again for a zone conference, and it was super awesome. We learned all about using the Book of Mormon to teach effectively. It was way cool. But then, I also found out that Elder Wiscombe is being transferred in the mini transfer.....in other words, tomorrow. I'm super sad. He is going up to Vitoria to be a zone leader. it's really a cool thing for him, and I am excited for him, but I really don't want him to go, and he still needs to finish my training!!! Oh well. Eso es la vida de un missioniaro. (This is the life of a missionary) But, one blessing is that Maria Angeles is going to be baptized tomorrow so Elder Wiscombe can baptize her!!! It's so great. I am so excited for her. We have been scrambling like crazy trying to get everything ready. 

 

Also this week we had a Christmas concert. It was pretty fun.  We sang in a bunch of different languages, and it was really neat, and a ton of people came. We weren't allowed to contact though, which was a bummer. But we handed out a ton of DVD's of Joy to the World. (if you haven't seen it yet, you should) It was really a good experience though.

 

The other thing that was really fun is we went over to a member's house, his name is Vicenso (vee chen so) and he is from Brazil. He is 18, and we went over there last preparation day to have a nerf war. I have never seen so many nerf guns in one place at a time except in stores!! It was a ton of fun, and at the end Hermana Maldonado (his mom) made us Brazilian hot chocolate. It was really good. 

 

Well, that was pretty much my week. The work is moving forward!!!

 

Love,

 

Elder Dixon

Camels...real camels!!

December 9, 2013

So this week was absolutely insane!!!!!!!!!!  Whiplash has officially set in, and our piso (apartment) is super crowded, because now we have 6 in a little 4 room piso. Why do we have 6 people?  Because I have 3 companions now...we are in a quad, not a trio anymore, which is weird.  Our new elder is Elder Gil from the Canary Islands, so a native Spanish speaker, who fortunately speaks English, but he is visa waiting to go to the Mexico East Mission, which is also crazy because he has no MTC training. 

Anyway, because of this last preparation day turned into another trip to IKEA and the mall... no ice skating.  This week though we will be going to play nerf with a member and ice-skate and shop and maybe see the belen (nativity).  It is so much fun in our piso even though we are crowded. It's funny too because Elder Roberts and Russel (the other set of missionaries) are in the living room on air mattresses because the 4 of us have to sleep in the same room and there are only 4 beds....so....ya, they got the short end of the stick.  We are working it out though because what happens is we go on splits all the time, so we aren't always together all four of us. Although, we do teach some lessons all together. 

 

The Christmas sprit really has hit us in our piso though. We even bought a tree and lights and stuff, and we have been having hot chocolate out the wazoo because it is so cold here.  But it's ok cause I have a big coat and a hat:) thanks mom for preparing me:)  Also, one thing I forgot to mention is while Elder Wiscombe and I were going to a menos activos (less active) house we passed by the belen and we got stopped because we had to wait for a line of camels to go past...real camels....with kids on them.  It was a kids ride all around the plaza!!  I wanna be a kid again just for that!  It was crazy!!!  Haha, hopefully I can get pictures today:)

 

Well, that was basically my week....it was all prepping for the new missionary and Christmas. Oh, we did go to Llerida again, but that is really just a routine thing.  I guess another thing is we have a choir concert next week with the members...funny thing though is that the 14 missionaries are accompanied by about 6 members, which is kind of sad, but hey, it still will be a good experience I think. 

 

I love you all and hope your week has been great!!

 

Love,

Elder Dixon

12/2/2013 "More Nicotine Gum and a Brazilian Thanksgiving"

December 2, 2013

 

Well, this week was a adventure!!! As you know, this past week I got a new companion, Elder Coombs, who I currently don't have any pictures of, but he is great.  He is from Pleasant Grove, and cool thing, he is studying at Utah State, mechanical engineering with an emphasis in the aeronautical field. Same as Zane!! and me, but not at Utah State... oh well.  

 

So, for some reason all of our investigators have problems smoking....I don't get why, but they do and its really lame. Oh well,  it makes for good memories...especially cause the best way to help them stop is with the nicotine gum, and when people see three missionaries buying it we get really weird looks and we have to explain why we are getting it.

 

Also this week I got to go to IKEA, in a mall called Puerto Venecia, which is easily the biggest and nicest mall I have ever been to, and from what I have heard from other missionaries it is the second biggest in the world or something.  For sure the biggest in Spain.  It even has an ice skating ring we are going to next week :) Also here in Zaragoza is a really cool tradition where they set up a life-sized model of the town of Bethlehem, and the nativity. Hopefully next week I will have pictures of that, cause they have been building it in the Plaza de Pilar for about 2 weeks now, so it should be done. Oh ya, and if you haven't yet, you should Google the Pilar in Zaragoza, because it is just about the prettiest thing in the world. 

 

Ok, so my dad had a bunch of questions for me, and I figured I could just answer them here, so.... The best kind of food here are the pastries, and the best is a Napolitana. They are like a croissant thing with chocolate filling and all flaky and messy and powdery sugary and absolutely amazing:) also, I really like the Palmera pastries too, which are a hard, flaky bread covered in chocolate. YUM:)

 

My companions are both 20 years old, both from Utah, both are amazing teachers and they came to the mission the same time, and actually were roommates in the MTC.  Our piso is really crowded with 5 people in it now, in fact, Elder Wiscombe is on the air mattress, and we had to get a new chair for the study room which is squishy with only two people in there, so....ya. It is a ton of fun though....and they are both really good cooks to, so that's a plus.

 

To get around we use the buses, but they are on strike a ton, so usually we just take Bus 11.....one leg after the other....in other words, we walk EVERYWHERE!!!!  It's ok though, usually, unless we are late, because then we have to run, in church shoes and a suit.  It's all good though:) 

 

Anyway, also this week we had Thanksgiving at a members house with our district, and it was very interesting. They are from Brazil, and so when they offered to host us, they also said they would make the rice and beans and some other stuff, because they thought that was part of what we usually eat.... we did make most of the food, such as the turkey and rolls and mashed potatoes, which they absolutely loved, but they also had some interesting traditions. Oh ya, and we made pumpkin Pie too:) yum:) it was pretty good.

 

On the subject of food, we went to another members house from Ecuador, and something really interesting is the fact that I  got to try Tripe.....fortunately I didn't know that's what it was til after I ate it....it was really weird, but if I had to I could eat it again, I guess.

 

Anyway, that really was my week in a nut shell. We have 4 fetchas right now for the month of December, the next one is for the 14th, and I am super excited, because it is a nice lady.  She told us once that she understood we were in a different country without our moms, and so she said she would be a substitute for a while. She even offered to iron our shirts if we needed her to.  She is absolutely amazing, and I really hope she gets baptized.

 

I love you all, and hope you all had a amazing week too!!!

 

 

Love, Elder Dixon

11/26/13 "..this week was another amazing week!!"

November 26, 2013

Well, this week was another amazing week!!  I love having amazing weeks all the time. This week though so much happened!!! I probably had better start with the biggest thing, and that is that I had another baptism!! Magally finally quit smoking after 39 years (she started at age 12) and she was baptized by Elder Wiscombe this past week. It was such an amazing experience. She is so nice, and she is really talented too. Please pray for her to stay strong, and to have things improve for her. She has had such a hard life, and I know that the gospel can improve it for her if she stays strong. 

 

The other big thing that happened this week was That elder Roberts and I went to Barcelona to get our DNI cards so that we can be legally here. So now I'm in no danger of being deported. Sorry mom, I'm here for the long haul:) We also celebrated an early Thanksgiving this week because of transfers, but it really was more of a practice because we get to do it again this week at a members house. We get to introduce American food to a south American family.  It was really funny because they don't quite get the concept of the food we eat. The mom asked us if we wanted her to cook the rice and beans.......ya..... so we may be having a interesting conglomeration of food:) but the best part is that we figured out how to make rolls:) the bread here in Spain just doesn't compare to a light, fluffy, fresh out of the oven potato roll. yum:) 

 

Ok, the last thing that happened this week is......Transfers!!!!!  And yes, it did affect me. I now have a new companion, Elder Coombs. We are in a Trio!!!  It's gonna be so crazy cause there really isn't any room in our piso, so we have been buying new stuff for him to be able to fit, such as a bed and a study chair and stuff like that. It's gonna be really crowded, but I'm excited.  It may be weird to be trained by two people, but we will see. We're going to go pick him up from the train station after we email actually, so I still haven't met him, but he was in elder Wiscombe's group at the MTC and in fact was one of his roommates there.  Pretty crazy.  So, that was my week.

 

I hope you are all doing well, and everything at home is good.  The holidays are almost here too...we have started to sing Christmas songs already.

 

 

Until next week,

 

Elder Dixon

 

 Enjoy these pictures that Elder Dixon sent

 

 

"..this week has been a roller coaster!!"

Well, this week has been a roller coaster!! Crazy stuff has been happening, for example, the lady I first committed to baptism has now told us to wait on the date, but then not to, and so I'm not sure what is going on really. I have a lesson with her tonight, but idk. However, this Friday we do have a family that is going to be baptized at 5 pm!! I'm so excited!!!  They are so great!  Also, we were able to get another commitment to baptism, this one for the 30th of November!! It's insane!!!  Also this week two people from the ward are leaving on their missions.

 

I'm sorry, I really don't have very much time to write more, but I want to ask you to offer to go on visits with the missionaries. They really need your help!! Member visits are the most important kind, and really help out a ton.

 

I want to let you know I have a testimony of this gospel, and I really enjoy the people and culture of Spain.

 

Love you all,

 

Elder Dixon

"...this week was sooooooooo crazy!!"

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow, this week was sooooooooo crazy!! So many miracles have happened it's insane!! The best thing though is that on November 9th, 2013, if everything goes well, Elder Wiscombe and I will be baptizing Magally, and also, a father and his two daughters!! The two girls are still in primary.  Their mom, also may be getting baptized but she is really hesitant.  We were meeting the family in the park to teach them,  and the very first thing the two girls said was they wanted to get baptized!!  It was really shocking, but we were so blessed!!  And as we were talking with them, eventually the dad joined in and by the end he wanted to be baptized as well.  They have now been to church three times, and it's so cool!!  The work is absolutely amazing and I love their family.  

Also this week we got to go to Lleida (pronounced yeda) for interviews with the president.  Lleida is the stake we are in and is the head of the zone.  I found out our zone is huge!!  It goes from the bottom of the mission clear up to the top (Andorra included) it's crazy!!  It was cool though. 

This week we get to go again for zone infoce (I'm not entirely sure what that is yet, but I will find out soon I guess.

The days go so fast here, and every night I go to sleep so tired, but the work is awesome, and my companion is absolutely amazing too.  This mission is absolutely amazing. I love you all, and I hope you all are doing well. 

The Lord truly blesses us. 

Love,

Elder Dixon

"We have been finding a lot of people to teach, and the blessing is all of them are from references"

Hello from Zaragoza Spain!!

 

This week has been absolutely crazy, hectic, wonderful, and miracle filled!!

 

To start off, Monday was packing day to leave the MTC, and say goodbye to everybody, and generally be really nervous for whatever came next.

 

So, Tuesday morning we woke up and got to the train station, and then we had an adventure trying to fit all our luggage (think airplane, with no overhead bins or room under the seats, nothing checked, and about 20 missionaries with 3 suitcases each....ya….). Then it was a two and a half hour train ride to Barcelona, going a constant 187.5 miles per hour!

 

Then we got to Barcelona, had interviews with the President and got assigned temporary companions to go stay with at their pisos (apartments) in the heart of Barcelona. Then we got to go contacting:) it was kind of a blur after that.  All I really can remember is I had a blast!!   And I got to sleep on a hard wood floor too :)  it was quite the experience.

 

Wednesday we woke up and went to an old fort where we could see all of Barcelona.  It was really cool....oh oops...I forgot I'm not supposed to say cool, or awesome as a missionary anymore.... anyway, it was super amazing and I loved it.

 

Then, I got to find out my companion and first area!!  Whoo!!  Elder Wiscombe is awesome!!  He has been out for about a year, and he is from Morgan Utah. (We call Utah "la fabrica" or, the factory, because so many missionaries are from there) We live in a piso with Elder Russel from Spanish Fork, and he is training Elder Roberts, who was my old companion in the MTC, so it's been a blast!!

 

Zaragoza is so pretty, and the people here are awesome.  Quick note - the missionaries NEED the members help. Having members at lessons is so important, and it is kind of hard to get people to come with us.  Please, ask the missionaries if you can go with them sometime.

 

Anyway, the rest of this week has been just full of meetings with members, our district, etc. It's been crazy, and we have had so many miracles. The coolest one though, is defiantly the fact that my first real day out in the field we had a lesson with a lady from Columbia.  I kind of told about her before.  I got to extend the invitation to be baptized, and she accepted!! Since then we have had two lessons with her, and she came to church yesterday too!!   It's so cool!!   

 

We have been finding a lot of people to teach, and the blessing is all of them are from references.  This week has truly been a blessing. 

I hope you all have an awesome week!!

 

Love,

 

Elder Dixon

"..Made it safe and sound to Barcelona.."

I made it safe and sound to Barcelona on Monday!!!   Although, that night I did sleep on a hardwood floor...that was fun.  Also, I got to go contacting and had a really fast lesson with a less active member.  It was soooo cool!!  Then yesterday we got to go to a fortress in Barcelona up on a hill, and on one side I could see all of Barcelona and on the other I could see the Mediterranean. It was so beautiful!! I will send some pictures next Monday (which is my new preparation day).

After that we had a meeting where I found out where my first area is and who my new companero is as well!!!

So...drumroll please.........I get to serve in Zaragoza (dead center of my mission) with Elder Wiscome!!  It's so cool!

Yesterday I got to go for another 2 hour train ride, and then when we got to our piso (apartment) it was time for us to be in our houses. (Oh, quick note, the missionary schedule here in Spain is an hour later because of the culture, so I get to wake up at 7:30 and go to bed at 11:30 instead of 6:30 to 10:30.  Yay :)

Anyway, I only have time to tell you that today I have taught four people, and in our second lesson I committed Magally to baptism on November 9!!!   And, no, I can't pronounce her name cause it's not Spanish pronunciation.  Anyway, it was so cool because that was the second visit she has ever had with the missionaries.    Also, she brought a friend who is really interested too!!! Jackpot!   Well, I have to go now, I'll tell you more about my adventures on Monday. 

Love you all!!

Elder Dixon