The Blessings that come from Enduring :)‏

Hello everyone!

First off, just wanted to let everyone know that despite of the huge Typhoon or here it's called a "Bagyo"  that hit the Philippines I am alive and well and nothing major happened here in the Pasig City area.  There was rain, but no more than usual, and wind, but it was nothing compared to Cedar City wind.  :)  However, I've heard that the destruction that occurred because of the typhoon was really, really bad and it's been a time of mourning for everyone here in the Pines.  I'm so grateful that we were safe in spite of the typhoon.

Secondly... I feel so incredibly blessed right now and so excited about this new transfer.  My new companion, Sister Jones, is amazing!  We get along so, so well and she is such a blessing in my life and already in the lives of those we've been teaching.  We had better numbers this week than any other week since I've come here, even though my previous companion and I had no appointments on Monday or Tuesday, and we were only able to have one appointment on Friday because of the Typhoon (our Mission President told us to all return to our apartments and be safe:)) and while we're both exhausted and a little sunburnt from all of the walking we've been doing, seeing eight of the less-active members we visited and three of our investigators attend church was worth it. :)  Most of the less-actives have really struggled with attending church for months.  Sister Jones and I really felt impressed to talk about temples and family history work in our visits with them this last week.  The Spirit could be felt so strongly in these visits and I was touched to see how our message touched the people we taught.  Quite a few of them cried... the first time that has happened in awhile.  :)  We taught them about how our ultimate goal should be to be able to live with our family forever, both our earthly family, and our heavenly family, and how we can only do that through the blessings of the temple.

I'm both speaking and understanding the language at a much faster pace than I was and yeah... everything's just wonderful.  :)  

I learned a lot during my first two transfers in the field, and while I have absolutely no desire to go back and relive them, they taught me a lot about having faith and trusting God with everything you've got.  I'm so excited for another week of awesome missionary work! :)  

Love you all lots!  Thank you for all of your love and support!  I feel so blessed to have so many people who are supporting me while I'm out here :)  You truly are all a blessing in my life. 

Have a fantastic week! 

Love, Sister Dickison