Sarah's June 29th Email

Here it is, the day no one thought would come!

I'm leaving Boston...

I have mixed feelings. I love the city life, I really do. It's exhausting and fun, and I love the people here. You get the most random personalities. And I have so many T stories (The T is the subway) and there is always something going on here. I also like being around so many missionaries. There are probably eight sets of missionaries I see on a regular basis, and I'll miss working with them, they are like war buddies.

On the other hand, I am ready to go. There is too much drama here for me, I think. I love the wards I'm in, but I think a change of missionaries keeps them from being too lax about missionary work. And I want to serve in a family ward again.

Anyway, I am moving to Connecticut. This transfer (Tomorrow,) we are combining with the Hartford, Conn mission and President is flip-flopping all the missionaries. I am going to a town called Storrs, it's next to Hartford, and I hear it's a really rich area. I'm pretty excited.

What I'm not excited about is leaving Sister Stevens. Over the past eight months we've been together, we have become very close. I'll be sad to lose her. We are both in denial that we aren't going together. I wish I could keep her for the rest of my mission, but alas. I cannot.

I'll get you my new address ASAP, but you can always just send things to the mission home. they forward it to wherever I am.

Thank you to Jim and Erin for all the pictures and updates. You look so happy! I love the pictures. Erin, you are model status.

I'm trying to think of what more to tell you...

This week, I got hit in the head and I couldn't hear in one ear for a couple of days, I kept falling over and losing my balance. But I'm better now. I'm hearing just fine! although I still fall over. I think it's just my natural clumsiness.

Nothing much else. I'll tell you all about Connecticut on Monday.

Loves!

Sister Dixon

4th of July Fun

It's the Fourth of July!

You are all invited for a
Waffle breakfast
at
the Dixon home.

We will serve breakfast
from 7 to 8-ish.

Then go watch the parade
at
8:30.

Anyone who would like to go to the
Festivities at the park
can join in the fun.

(The plan is to be able to be done in time to take a nap!)

CAN'T WAIT, CAN'T WAIT, CAN'T WAIT!

If you can make it...

...i'm getting endowed at the Salt lake temple next week, Saturday July 2nd @ 9:00 (though guests will need to be there at 8:30.) I would love it if my family could be there! <3

Sarah's June 20th Email

Hey family!

So this week was fairly eventful! First off, Happy Fathers day! let us raise a cheer for the best papa in the world!!!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!

I love my daddy!

So, last week on p-day, our zone decided to have a huge slaughter ball competition (It's like, extreme dodge ball) with the other zone right next to us.

Our zone totally dominated! it was so intense! but I will have you know, it was not due to anything I did. I spent most of the time in the prison on the back wall of the opposite team. But, I did quite a lot of cheering on, and distracting the other team with trash talk. I'm way good at trash talk! so yeah, when I wasn't in the prison I was guarding the prisoners in the back and handing the balls I got to all the good dodge ball players on our team. I was a really good passer! The other team wasn't expecting that one!!!

Anyway, so on Wednesday, we had a breakfast appointment which made us sick for the rest of the day (like really sick...) so that was a blah day.

We had a really fun district meeting this week though. I gave a training on the Christlike attribute of Hope, and then after I sat down our District leader, Elder Ellis, announced that we would be playing a game. We were split into two teams (companionship against each other) He would ask a question from Preach My Gospel, and whoever answered first, got two points for the team. AND THEN, he would announce an item and someone had to put it on the desk faster than the other team.

This was a bad idea.

All but one of the elders had played football in high school and the only one who hadn't was Elder Yim, who is a Chinese fireball.

Anyway, there was elbowing, biting, tackling, and blood was drawn. But I am proud to say, I won a few points for my team, and we dominated there too.
but still, we probably won't be doing that again.

The topper of this week was the re-dedication of the Longfellow Park chapel. For the past year, we had been meeting in the stake center because last May, the longfellow chapel burned down, but they have finally finished it and it was rededicated yesterday.

It was so beautiful! We had President Eyring and Elder Packer come to the dedication. Sister Stevens was translating for our deaf investigator, Jonathan, and so we were right up front. The building was so beautiful and the talks were so inspiring. President Eyring told us that with the re-dedication of the chapel, we should rededicate ourselves to serving the Lord. And at the very end of the meeting we all sang The Spirit Of God. It was like everyone was giving their all to that song! It was truly amazing. Not a dry eye, I can tell you.

All the singles wards will now be meeting in the Longfellow Chapel, so that is where I will be from now on. Well, for another week. I think they will be moving me this transfer. I've been here too long.

Anyway, I ask that your prayers be with Elder Packer, they took him out in an ambulance. We haven't heard anything since, but I hope he's okay. He is truly amazing.

That is about all for the week. This p-day we are going to the aquarium, which should prove to be a lot of fun. I'll let you know how it goes.

I love you all so much! I miss you! Hope this next week is amazing!

Love,
Sister Dixon

We finally decided we needed a blog. It is at http://dixondelights.blogspot.com/

A New Blog.

So, now that Jim and I are stuck together forever, we decided to start a new blog together. We'd like to keep it private, but would love for the family to be able to read it. If you'll send one of us your email, we'll send you an invite. Thanks!

Sarah's June 6th email

Dear Family

SCHOOL IS OUT!!!! good news for you, bad news for me! Half the population of Boston is students and they are all going home! Nonetheless, we have a baptism coming up on Saturday. Her name is Maggie and she is awesome!!!!! will send pics.

So on Wednesdays we volunteer at a food pantry and while I was rushing around with rotten tomatoes in my hand, I happened to look outside to see that is was raining and blowing like no one's business. I dropped the rotted tomats and opened my phone to see that the mission had txted us saying we were all on tornado watch.

Tornado watch? In Massachusetts?

We work with two other companionships on that shift and they opened their phones to see the same text.

Tornado watch? What does that mean? do we have to go home? Does the train work? Can we even go outside?

We looked around the food pantry and decided that we had enough food and water to manage ourselves for a month.

Then the Elders got another txt from their zone leaders telling them to go home and sit in the basement, keep away from windows, and to call them when they get there.

They were like "Dang, guess we'll cancel our appointments"

We still hadn't gotten any txts.

The Elders lived down in Roslindale, which was super far away, so we gave them our key to the church so they could camp out there if the T wasn't working. They left.

Since we hadn't gotten any texts, we decided we'd finish our shift.

We were getting kind of annoyed at our zone leaders. we could be getting sucked up by a tornado right then! we could be swirling around in a vortex! It would have been their fault for not telling us to go home and board the windows! Those characters!

We finish up our shift and it looked torrential outside. We had to get all the way up to Revere (right next to the harbor) for an appointment and we were just about to step outside when we got a text.

Yes! It was the zone leaders! They did care about us! The text said: Tornado. Go home until further notice.

Hmmm. Slightly less loving than the other zone leaders. But still, now we had permission to avoid death. Turned out the T was working just fine, so we cancelled out appointment and we made it home fairly quickly. Then the sky had a seizure!

Family, it was the COOLEST lightning storm I had ever seen! The lightning overlapped and split and made crazy shapes, I swear I saw one that made the mark of the Z like in Zorro. It lasted like ten minutes! It was the most awesome ten minutes of my life! we watched from our basement as we boarded up the windows and doors and huddled in a mass.

Anyway, the next day was cheerful and sunny and not a cloud to be seen. we went out to work (even thought our ZLs didn't give any further notice, thank you!).

Anyway, that was my tornado experience. It wasn't bad in Boston, but out in my first area, it hit hard. it even killed some people. We wanted to get together a crew to help with damage, but president wanted us to stay here.

On another note, it is Sister Stevens' birthday tomorrow. Yay! Since today was p-day, I woke her up early, put a cardboard crown decorated with tinfoil and stickers on her head and sent her on a treasure hunt to find her present. I think she liked the hunt better than the gift, but I didn't have money for the gift, so the hunt was really kind of the present. but she loved it! yay! Than I made her pudding waffles! today we are going to walk around Boston for a bit and visit our favorite places.

Anyway, one more thing to share before we go: I had to give a training on the Book of Mormon on Friday, so as I was studying it, in Preach My Gospel it says that we have to have investigators pray with faith in Christ, sincerity of heart, and real intent, if the Book of Mormon is true, like in Moroni 10:3-5. But it also said, that we should periodically do the same to strengthen our testimony of the Book of Mormon. So the night before I knelt down and asked again if the Book of Mormon was true, feeling a little silly, because I had recieved this answer already. But It turned out to be a really amazing experience. Not only did I recieve a very distinct answer that it was true, but I recieved revelation on how to use the Book of Mormon better in my missionary work.

So that was pretty cool. turns out the church is true! Just as I always knew! aren't we so lucky!

Anyway, I love you all! Have a great week! enjoy no school!

Sister Dixon

A few Groomal shots.

Isn't he AWESOME?!

Here are some of our "Groomal" photos (Bridals with the Groom). Thanks for all your help with the wedding! It was a wonderful day for both of us, especially to be surrounded by such an incredible family.

We'll post photos from the wedding day when we get them from the photographer. Also, if anyone has photos they took that day, can we have copies?! That would be awesome.

PS - Are any of the groomsman missing their tie?
PPS - If anyone wants copies of any of these photos, or want prints of them, visit THIS LINK. You can order hard copies from our photographer through this site, or save them and print them yourself. This option will also be available for the wedding photos once they are posted.

Raise the Roof!

When was the last time you were terribly sore and sunburned? Been awhile? Well, now you can fix that by helping us replace our roof (it leaks). We are having a roofing party on Saturday, June 11 starting at 8am. Anyone who comes to help will be rewarded with pizza.

Sarah's June 1st email

Dear Family,

What a beautiful wedding! Erin, your dress is beautiful, and you look so stunning! Jim, you look so happy! I'm so happy for you both!

I saw the random pictures of family and I didn't recognize half of you! You have all changed so much! I am sad I missed it (the organ loft sounded like a blast!). I'm glad they get to go to Disneyland! That sounds like a pretty awesome honeymoon. thank you thank you thank you for not putting my face on George Bush's body. I greatly appreciate that.

Sorry I didn't write on Monday, it was memorial day and the library was closed. Things here are good! We have a baptism coming up next week, her name is Maggie, and she is amazing! She had been taught with her family, and when her family decided they didn't want to join the church yet, she contacted the Elders and told them she still wanted to be baptized. She is university age, so the Elders passed her to us. She is so brilliant! we love her so much! She loves learning more about the Church and she loves going and when we asked her about baptism, she said, "as soon as possible!" we tried to get it for this week, but she has to go to church more. Nonetheless, she is awesome!

A member here offered to take Sister Stevens and I to a Red Sox game. We were so excited, because one elder told us that president gave him permission to go once, so we were pretty certain he'd let us go. Unfortunately, the first thing he said when we asked him was "I've had to say no to that three times this week." So no Red Sox game for us. We pass by Fenway all the time! I'm kinda bummed, but maybe I'll just buy a red Sox hat and listen to other people talk about it on the T. Oh well.

Not much else to report. You are all awesome! I am glad the wedding went well. I hope the recovery period for after the wedding goes well too. I love you! Thank you for all your prayers! I have the best family ever!
Luffs,
Sister Dixon