M.L.C.

This last week was so great and so busy!  Sister Alailima just barely left for Mindoro this morning.  Yesterday she was picked up by the Johnsons who took her to the Sisters house in Cubao where she slept for a few hours before getting on her early flight this morning.... so weird... that was the last time I'm going to see her until next year, when she comes back to Utah to go to school :(  I was so blessed to be her companion twice.  Learned so much from her and we had some great times :)  Sister Suminguit is currently not here yet, but she should be getting dropped off in a few hours.  Can't wait!!  I've just been chilling, working with my kabahays since yesterday. 

Great news... we should be having a baptism this week!!  Sister Jhon-mela had a great interview on Saturday and is so ready to get baptized!!  At the beginning of last transfer, we started teaching her grandmother who had been inactive for a long time, come to find out Jhon-mela, who's 10, lives with her and hadn't been baptized yet.  We invited them to church and honestly were totally shocked when they came the very next day.... and they've been coming every week since, including attending all four sessions of general conference over the last two days!!  They're so great!!  So happy for Jhon-mela!  Her mother who's inactive is going to come to the baptism... :)

Last Friday I went to Mission Leadership Council companion-less... It was really weird.  Sister Alailima couldn't come, cause she's not an STL anymore, so I got stuck riding in a taxi with my Zone Leaders and their kabahay, who's companion was still on Mindoro.  It was so weird.... probably preparing me for being without a girl companion 24/7.... I don't like it.  However, MLC was so wonderful!!  Pretty much the strongest I've felt the Spirit my whole mission.  My testimony of the power of councils has just grown so much with this calling.  It's so great sitting there with everyone and discussing the needs of the mission and ideas for helping things to get even better.  I love it!!  The Assistants presented the most amazing workshop for zone training which I can't wait to participate in again tomorrow at zone training.  It's going to be awesome! 

General Conference was great!  I played "Where's Uncle Dave" by myself as we watched the MoTab sing :)  Loved all of the talks and especially appreciated the talks about sustaining our leaders, it was very fitting for me having just attended MLC. :) 

We have so many great investigators in these area, many whose bap dates are coming up soon.  I haven't been able to work in my area since Thursday so... I'm really excited for my companion to get here and us to go to work.  The break from traveling for exchanges has been nice but I'm excited to get to work with all of the sisters again. 

As for how I'm feeling.... I feel weird to be quite honest.  The fact that I"m leaving just becomes more real to me every day, and it doesn't help that everyone's reminding me about it 24/7.  :)  I'm excited, but for some reason scared at the same time.... I just can't imagine going back to "normal" life again.  I had another one of those moments, those priceless ones.  Sister Alailima and I were teaching a lesson to a new investigator named Mary Ann.  She lives on the mountain, in the middle of nowhere, in a hut that's the same size as my closet... which isn't that big.  She has two little kids, a two year old and a one year old.  Her husband works all week long and usually just comes home one day a week to sleep for a little while before he heads back out to work.  They have very little of the things of the world, and yet she is at peace.  I just thought about us coming from Utah and Hawaii to teach this wonderful daughter of God, who lives in basically a box in the mountains in the Philippines about the Restoration of the gospel and God's plan for us.... man... it was one of those surreal moments that I'll cherish forever. 

I love you all and encourage you all to apply what you learned from general conference into your lives!  I know this gospel is true and a gift too wonderful to not being sharing it with those around us.  Have a wonderful week!
Love, Sister Dickison