Can you believe I've been on this island for almost 4 and a half months?!

September 17, 2014

So...this week was "una locura" (crazy)  so much happened!  The fiestas were all done and stuff, so that was good, they have cleaned up everything, and stuff.   So, Tuesday, we had a meeting for all the sisters in Europe, that we were in charge of setting up. It was broadcasted from Germany, and we weren't allowed to watch...but we couldn't leave either, and since they were using the computer we couldn't work that way...and oh, ya, there's no cell service in the church, and so we just sat and talked and played chess for two hours. Yup. Then we also went to the Nuñezes again to work on the truck, that was fun, and we found out later that night that one of our investigators was moving to England the next day...we got her new address, so more missionaries will be knocking on her door:) Then Friday we also taught institute, so that was fun, and I have learned a ton already from the manual we're using.  Then we also got to go teach a private English class to a members boyfriend, and so that was super fun, and then the crazy stuff really began.  So, Saturday was transfers, and Elder Jonson is now in Sabadell, by Barcelona.

 

Well, since there isn't anybody I could stay with on the island while he was traveling, I got to go to Barce again for a day!!! I got to see a ton of people and missionaries I know, and then I played guide for all the people who had no idea how to use the metros or get to the airport.  It was a blast!!  So, my new companion is Elder Lesueur, I don't know how to say it really it's like le sweer or something...idk.  Anyway, he's great.  He's from Arizona, and we get along well so far:) I'm super excited.  We are going to see so many miracles here!!!  Can you believe I've been on this island for almost 4 and a half months? Crazy!!  Also, we set a branch goal to have 30 people in church regularly by the end of October, so we're going to have to work super hard!!  It's gonna be a blast!!

 

Anyway, I hope you all had as good a week as I did!!

 

Love you!

Elder Dixon

Palma, zone conference, miracles...and PICTURES!!

September 8, 2014

This week was amazing!  So much crazy stuff happened, from going to Palma and the Zone Conference, to seeing miracles, and having the fiestas de Maó, it's been a really good week.  One of the miracles we saw here in Menorca was that Maca and her mother, Uriana came to church this week, for the first time since I have been here, and that was absolutely amazing!!  We had people to participate and everything!  They are both really less active and we have been visiting them a ton, and finally they came, and both gave beautiful testimonies as well.   The only bummer is the Clark's are in Barcelona to do piso inspections so they didn't get to hear them.  

 

Anyway, the miracle I really want to tell you about though is one that happened when I was working with Elder Dailey (my district leader) in Levante(Palma, Mallorca) while we were there for the conference  (we stayed two days, so we went on splits and worked the first night) anyway, we passed by an investigators house, but she didn't let us in, and wouldn't even talk to us through the timbre, so we left and passed by more people.  Well, later, we had to walk by again, and so we decided to try and find out if she wanted us to come by at a different time.  Well, Elder Dailey did a really good job of talking to her through the timbre (I was on the phone, so I missed his conversation) and we got in, and the following lesson we had was one of the most powerful I have ever been in.  As soon as we entered, she began to cry, because so much had been going on.  She has a handicapped daughter, and she and her husband are about to go through a divorce, and countless other things are going on, so she feels like she can't talk to anyone about anything, not even to Heavenly Father through prayer.  So we read a little bit of the Book of Mormon when the people of Alma are enslaved, and how they weren't allowed to pray, and then the Spirit just took over, and we  both felt impressed to promise her that if she were to read the Book of Mormon with the district, 2 chapters every day, then her whole situation would work out.  It was absolutely amazing, and at the end she was laughing and smiling, then crying from happiness and everything.  I really gained a huge testimony of both the power of the Book of Mormon, and of the promises we as missionaries can make.  And all this happened the day before the zone conference, where we talked about the exact same principle.  It was absolutely amazing to me to see and be a part of it.

 

That really was the highlight of the week.  We're also trying to avoid all the drunk people here because it's the biggest party of the year, with dancing horses and everything.  It's pretty crazy.

 

Thank you all so much!!

Love,

Elder Dixon

 

Photos are of Menorca and Elder Jonson is the comp.

 

 

 

We will finish the Book of Mormon by the end of the year!

September 1, 2014

So here in Spain a cool thing is happening, that for all the Barcelona mission, every missionary, and hopefully every member is going to read the Book of Mormon every day, about 2 chapters a day, and we will all finish by the end of the year.  The whole thing is to study the testimonies, attributes, and teachings of Christ, and then share that with everyone we can.   We are starting today, the 1st of September, and it hopefully will become a focus point throughout the mission.  I would venture to guess that it may be through Spain even, but I'm not sure.   Still, it's really cool, and even though we only started today, I learned something really neat.  Every time that Nephi or Lehi talk about the Lord, and his commandments, or his words, it is a testimony that He lives.  It's really neat to see that.

 

Aside from that, life here in Menorca is going well.  Things are starting to slow down for the tourists, which means that the work is picking up for us. This week we have been able to get a lot done, and we have seen miracles.  A miracle that happened this week was that one of the investigators we lost contact with for a while came to church yesterday, and so we had a great opportunity to talk a little more with her and try to help her out, and she said that she would read the Book of Mormon with us to be done by the end of the year.  Apparently, she has known the missionaries for at least 4 years, and she still hasn't ever read, but she said that now she has a schedule to follow, she will, so we will see what happens.  I'm really glad to have the schedule for me personally as well, because one of the problems I have with studying is that I want to cover so many topics, I pick up one and then drop others before I get done, so to have a set schedule is really helpful.  I'm really excited to be able to focus on Christ a little more as well.

 

We also went to a less actives house yesterday, to be able to teach her non member boyfriend.  It was really interesting, because he has no religious background at all, so things like praying, or thinking that there is a God, are completely foreign to him.   He's never really thought about it before, and so to teach him is really different.  But he loves to read, so we'll see how it goes.  Hopefully he will read the Book of Mormon with us too.

 

So, it was a good week.

Thanks for all your support.

Love,

Elder Dixon

He said "so and so" in English....

August 25, 2014

This week was pretty good here in Menorca.   We are having a pretty great time, and seeing miracles.  One that was pretty neat happened Tuesday actually. We were going to go visit a lady named Maria, who really hasn't been progressing.  She wouldn't ever read the Book of Mormon, and she really likes all the saints that she has, so this visit was planned as a possible last, if she wasn't reading the Book of Mormon. Well, we went, and to start with, we were just talking, and I noticed that all of her saint statues, which are usually on the top shelf in a corner, had all been moved to the bottom shelf, which was surprising.  So, it was even more surprising when she let us know that she had been reading, every night, and was in chapter 4 of first Nephi. She told us that she had had the book for so long, at least for 3 years, maybe more, and she hadn't ever taken the time to even open it, until one day last week, she decided to just try a bit, and she got hooked. So, she started at the title page, and read through the whole introduction, all the testimonies, and everything.  It's really great, and so we have a visit with her set up tomorrow.  Then on top of that story, we went to another investigators house, and it was planned to be the same kind of lesson, and we again were surprised that she has read a bit.  Not very much, but she committed to read every single day, at least one verse, so we will see how it goes. We are finally coming out of summer, and people seem to have a bit more time.

Also, we have now started to restore another car....apparently word got out that we know how or something, so here we go!  I'm still not sure what I'm doing, but hey, it looks ok so far!  Maybe I should start a business when I get home.

So, to end here is a fun story.  We were in a lesson, and explaining to some tiny kids why we call each other brother or sister in the church, since we're all children of God, and so on.  Well..Elder Jonson was trying to give an example of who we call people "hermano so and so, or hermana so and so" only problem? he said "so and so" in English, and we were teaching Bolivians, where apparently, that's what they say to mean dumb, or stupid. We had a pretty good laugh over that one once he saw the confused looks on all our faces:)

Thanks for all your support, and if you need something to study this week, read alma 5 or D&C 98, they are amazing.

Love

Elder Dixon

God really is in control of everything

August 18, 2014

This week was a good week. We had a ton of tourists in church, we had a bunch of visits, and overall it was a good week. We also had a pretty neat miracle. We were going to go do service for a menos activo family in a pueblo that in bus takes about 30 minutes to get to.  However, if we go in car, it's only about 15 minutes, and so we were debating if we should ask the Clark's if they wanted to come help.  (We've been restoring a car, which Elder Clark is really good at) Well, we decided it would probably be better if we just went by bus, and so we planned on being in the bus station by 10:45 to get the bus at 11.  We got on, no problem, and we headed to the pueblo. There are three stops there, one by the beach, another just up the hill, and the last one is right next to their house, and so that's the one we always get off on.  However, this time, the bus driver took a different route after the first, and so he blew past the last two, and we were still on the bus, headed back home.  So, our only options were to go back, and then wait another hour for the next bus and go, or call the Clark's and see if they wanted to come help out. So we did, and that they were there was perhaps one of the biggest miracles I have seen. Elder Clark was able to talk to the family, and we were able to figure out some of the reasons why they aren't coming to church, and overall it was a super spiritual experience, that we wouldn't have had if the bus driver hadn't skipped those stops. There is no such thing as a coincidence.  God really is in control of everything.

 

We also got to give out a Book of Mormon in Arabic this week to a Muslim man, who is actually really open.  He is super nice, and I'm learning a ton about the Muslim religion I didn't know before.  It's a completely different way of teaching, because we really are just sharing and learning about each other's religions, and we have to really focus on the points we have in common. It was pretty neat too, because to start one of the lessons, Elder Jonson said the prayer, like normal, and to end, he said the prayer, which was a neat little chant/song thing that he had memorized from the Koran. It's really interesting, so we´ll see where it goes.

 

This week, one thing I really noticed about my companion is how good he is at improvising and following the Spirit.  For example, yesterday in church there was a family from England, and so I volunteered to translate.....well, that meant that he then taught the lesson solo, and he did a great job, and I only had to help out by asking some questions.  He is really good at just rolling with whatever comes his way and dealing with it.

 

Oh, another thing too…yesterday, as we were up on the stand to bless the sacrament, right after president gave the announcements, he leaned over to us and asked if we could give the talks....yup...we had the time of the sacrament to prepare our talks. It was pretty fun, with translating and everything else. Crazy Sunday.  There were so many people there I didn't know what to do!

 

So, basically that was my week. just one last thing.   I would encourage all of you to read Alma 5.  I've been studying it for the past week, and it's incredible!!  Go read it:)

 

Love you all,

Elder Dixon

I love old crazy Spanish people :)

August 11, 2014

This week was super crazy. So much happened, it was insane!! We did a bunch of service again, and went to Palma, met with a ton of members, and had 21 people in church! All in all a good week. This Saturday was pretty neat too, because one of the high councilors from Palma and another brother came to help us out with some stuff and go on visits with us, and so we had some amazing miracles. The biggest one was that we went to visit one of the YSA named Eddy, who has been having a rough time recently, and doesn't really enjoy talking to us. But apparently he is really good friends with Hermano Waldir, the high counselor, and so we had a super great lesson. It was really spiritual, and I think it really helped Eddy out a bunch. We also went to lunch with them, so that was a fun little treat.

 

One thing I want to say about my companion, is that he is really good at seeing what needs to be done, and doing it, even if he doesn't want to. For example, we were talking to a menos activo, but his kids just kept getting in the way and interrupting because they were bored, or because they had just spilled a cup full of Fanta into my lap (ya, that was fun...) and stuff like that, and so Elder Jonson just got up and started playing a game with them, and I was able to have a really good conversation with the menos activo that I wouldn't have been able to if he hadn't. And to make it even better, since we were in a busy park, about 20 other kids joined in the game and it turned into a great time, with both of us having to shower once we got home (me cause of the Fanta, him because he was running around like crazy with the kids) Even though he would have preferred to stay and talk, he was able to help out a ton by playing with the kids. He is a great example to me.

 

Ok, so one funny little story. Hermano Waldir is a guy from Colombia, who is really dark.  So, we were standing with him talking to somebody on the street and a really old lady walks past, and as usual, I say hi, and go back to taking to the person I was talking to...when all of a sudden this lady grabs my hand, drags me over to a bench cause she wants to sit down, and starts telling me about how she knows me from Granada, which I've never been to, since that's the south of Spain...so I'm thinking, "oh boy, another Andalucían" (remember, Elder Ferrer is from Granada, and the people from there are crazy, and when they really are off their rocker, even more so...) so, she just keeps talking, and won't let go of my hand...then she asks where I'm from, and when she found out I was from the country with the black president, she looked over at Hermano Waldir, and well....I guess she made the connection that he was President Obama.....so she drags me over to him and grabs his had as well, and starts screaming a prayer at "President" to stop the war, or something......it was fun:) I love old crazy Spanish people:)

 

Anyway, that was my week.

Love you all!!

Elder Dixon

Right in the height of tourist season and everything!

August 5, 2014

This week was absolutely amazing. The best part? We had probably the biggest miracle ever, which is that we had a baptism, in the middle of summer, in Menorca! Right in the height of tourist season and everything!

 

However, the story doesn't start just this last week, but rather on the 12th of June, before I came into the area. They had intercambios with our zone leader, and while they were working in the area, he contacted a lady named Dolores, and then she started to listen to our message. She has a sister named Margarita, who would usually just go into her room and wouldn't listen to the lesson. Well, a month later, on the 18th of July, my companion and I had intercambios with our district leader, and we went to visit Dolores, and this time, Margarita listened. By the end of the lesson, she had a baptismal date, and a Book of Mormon, and she promised to read and pray, and come to church the next week. Well, she kept her promises, and came to church, and then the next week she came again. We kept meeting her, and one time we asked her how she felt about the Book of Mormon, and she said that she could feel herself changing as she read it, and she wanted to follow the precepts that it teaches. Then the best part is that this Friday, she was baptized, and Sunday she was confirmed. It was really neat too, because after her baptism she shared her feelings, and said that she hadn't felt this way before, except for when she started reading the Book of Mormon two weeks ago. It was super powerful and really neat to see her progress and change. There were so many little miracles along the way as well, such as the fact that she had grown up living the word of wisdom her whole life. All of it, because her mother had always taught them to stay away from drugs as well as coffee and tea, so that was a little miracle. When we were explaining the word of wisdom she told us that when she was in school she had tried some alcohol, and then said she felt super bad about it so she never drank again. I am so grateful that I was able to see the change and be a part of it. I love serving a mission, especially here in Spain. .

 

Love,

Elder Dixon