Thanksgiving Miracles!

This week was so great! So many miracles happened that I am SO grateful for! I noticed that the more grateful I was for little miracles, the more I was able to recognize them and therefore the more happened! Heavenly Father is so amazing, He truly is in the "details of our lives"! :)

To begin with, we have been working with our recent convert, K*. We are trying to get him to come out with us to go visit people so he can prepare for a mission! His bike tires were flat so Sister Bullard and I (being bike experts... haha not really) changed his tires and amazing found a pump at his neighbors house to pump up his tires! All in the process talking to his neighbor and showing her the "He is the Gift" video! It was a miracle! We picked up a new investigator, fixed K's bike, and in the process his non-member mom came home from work and we were able to talk to her for the first time in like 2 months!

On Tuesday we had our first district meeting as a sister district! #Sistrict! Sister T* is an amazing district leader and because she is going home at the end of this transfer, she is so wise and always knows how to help us! That night we had another miracle! Bishop P* came out with us, he is the best bishop ever, So missionary minded! We went to A*'s house because we haven't seen her in a while. And her husband who is really against the church right now, actually came down and sat with us, participated in the lesson, listened to bishop, and committed to start reading the Book of Mormon! And the other miracle is that day we had 3 different members out with us and I was just praying that we would have a lesson while we were with each of them and we did! Heavenly Father truly answers prayers.

Thanksgiving was SO FUN! In the morning we went running to a park and Sister B* and I just played around on the playground, it was fun! Then I found a huge package from my family! It was perfect! After studies in the morning we made a bunch of thank you cards for members in our ward that come out with us! We had dinner with a family in our ward, the S*'s. They are awesome! Then we had another dinner with this single lady in our ward, and her 3 dogs, 3 cats, and 10 parrots! that night we got to watch an actual movie with our zone! We chose to watch FROZEN! IT was so good! I love that movie!

The next day was a miracle because we had a BAPTISM!! C and J-K were baptized that night. The miracle was that their dad, who thought he wasn't worthy, was able to baptize them! The spirit was so strong that night as he performed the baptism, I just know the power of the priesthood is real. Then Sister B* and I were able to present the Restoration while the boys were getting dressed and as I told the story of Joseph Smith the Spirit witnessed to me how true it is. I know without a doubt that this church was restored through Joseph Smith and that this church is true! Then that night we went to the K*'s for a bonfire and pizza! It was fun, I haven't roasted a marshmallow in over a year! And sister K* told us that we will always be apart of their family!

The next day we had a lesson with T*, who is just amazing! we went over the baptism interview questions and she is going to be baptized this week! As well as the B* Family! Please pray for both families that they will continue progressing toward their baptism!

Last night we had another miracle! After having a pretty slow day, we went to this part member family's house and they were going through their Christmas lights and ornaments! So we decided to help them out! And at the end, the 9 year old boy, J*, came up to us and said "I want to be baptized"! That was miracle! So we are going to meet with him on Wednesday and hopefully start teaching him and preparing him for baptism as well!

This work is amazing, The church is True, Jesus is the Christ and is the first gift  of Christmas! I invite you all to #sharetheGift this Christmas season! I love you all and thank you for the support!

Sister Dewey

- Haircut!-

~We love our beautiful sister Dewey!!~

THANKSGIVING!! (11/24/14)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!! I truly am just so grateful! For everything! Seriously, being on a mission has made me more grateful for everything! For my family, for the Gospel, for Jesus Christ, for my relationship with God, for friends, for a nice house, for food, for clothing, for being apart of a Heavenly Family, for my companion, for the mission president, for the people we meet everyday, for laughter, for trials, for the Atonement, for the Book of Mormon, for the plan of salvation, for this wonderful world in which we live, and for just BEING A MISSIONARY! And everything that encompasses that. I do want to Thank my parents for being the best Parents in the world. I am so blessed and so grateful to have a mom and dad that care so much for me! I am so grateful for everything that you have done for me growing up and for all that you will do for me, I just can't say thank you enough. I love you lots!

On Tuesday we had an amazing Zone conference! We learned about the "He is the Gift" initiative that the church is coming out with on Nov. 28th! We already saw the short video, which is amazing! This is seriously going to be so big! The church bought an advertisement bar on youtube and bought a huge corner in Times Square to show advertisements and the actual video! Please try this Christmas season to "Discover the Gift, Embrace the Gift and Share the Gift!"

On Wednesday Sister Bullard, the ZL, and I were in charge of another Zone meeting! It was even better than last week! We made a tree of life/iron rod walk through in the gym and had all the missionaries blindfolded. Then it ended in the chapel with soft music playing. We talked about how before our missions we went through trials and challenges to get on a mission, and now we are here. So WHY are we here? We talked about our purpose as missionaries and then at the end we ran in with the Title of Liberty that we made for our zone! it was a huge success and really got our zone motivated to work hard!

We had an amazing lesson with T* this week! It wasn't so much what we talked about but her prayer at the end of the lesson. She was so sincere and just thanked Heavenly Father for sending us to her and for all that the Gospel has blessed her with. She thanked Him for the peace that she now feels in her life and the comfort and guidance that the Book of Mormon brings to her! She started tearing up a little bit and so of course I did too and afterwards she just gave me the biggest hug. This is what the gospel is all about my friends, changing lives and bringing true happiness. She told us that her divorce is getting moved back to Feb, but she doesn't want to wait that long to be baptized so she moved her baptism up a week and is getting baptized onDec 6th!

We had a cool experience while trying to contact some referrals. Both of them weren't interested, so we decided to knock on the 2 neighbors houses on each side of the house. We met this older guy named R* who said he would be interested and told us to come back on Tuesday! The Lord really does lead us to people who are prepared!

We met with the B* family on Saturday and went over the baptism interview questions! We were really nervous that they were going to say that they don't believe in Joseph Smith! But when we got to that question they all said yes! Brother B* said he is taking a leap of faith but knows this is right for him and his family! They will be baptized on Dec 6th as well! And they need all the prayers we can give! We have been working with them for 6 months now! I have complete faith in the Lord that He will help them make it!

The week ended SO GOOD with CHURCH!!! WE Had so many investigators and less-actives come it was a miracle! The R* family, who we have been working with ever since I got to Maricopa, finally came to church! For Brother R*, that's the first time in 20 years! You can just tell the spirit is working within him and his family! We also had 3 other less active families come that haven't come in years! As well as T* and The K boys! The K boys had their baptism interview on Sunday and passed so they will be baptized this Friday!!! It is so exciting to see hard work pay off!

The Gospel is amazing and I'm so blessed to be on a mission! I will miss all of you during thanksgiving but I would not want to be anywhere else right now! Thanks again for all you do!

Sister Dewey

BEST ZONE EVER!!!

"Soccer with the Zone on P-day!!"

This week was amazing, that's all I can say. Seriously my testimony of this Gospel seems to grow everyday as I see it blessing the lives of others and as I realize how much it CAN and WILL bless the lives of others!

on a funny note: we went by this girl's house, S*, and she is kind of interested and we were talking to her for a little bit and then all of a sudden her Baptist grandma comes out of the room and starts preaching to us about living in Fear and how we need faith and she just went off for a solid 20 minutes. And then when we tried to pray at the end she kept interrupting and yelling "PRAISE JESUS". It was funny and totally unexpected.

On Tuesday we had Zone meeting where Sister B* and I, and the zone leaders did some training for the zone! It was so powerful as we really pumped up the zone about each companionship having a baptism this transfer! The way to achieve that goal is through referrals and member presents, we also got out 10 baptism suits and had each companionship envision who was going to be in suit! Everyone was so excited afterwards and I just know that we have the best zone ever! Our goal was to ask for 200 referrals every week as a zone and after 2 days we were already at 154! #wethebest #HeavenlyFatherisamazing

We had dinner with the B* family this week! They are doing good, we are trying to help them see the importance of reading the Book of Mormon!! I know without a doubt that no one can read the Book of Mormon and NOT feel anything. And I know that reading the Book of Mormon is the fastest way to gain a testimony of this church and the best way to prepare for baptism. So we are working with them on that.

On Thursday we went to MLC (mission leadership council) with the Zone leaders. We received some powerful training from the assistants about how we are literally in a battle right now and how we have to unhesistantly go to the rescue when there is a "MAN DOWN!" We also got chastised by President T*, but all-in-all the meeting changed my life. I am now more committed to my Savior Jesus Christ and to serving those around me.

I had a cool experience when we went to this part member family on Thursday. We were teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ and talking about repentance, faith, sacrament and the holy ghost. We heard the story of her ex-husband how he was so faithful but because he wasn't truly converted he fell away. I just sat there looking at these kids (who looked bored to death and weren't even paying attention) and I thought to myself, I hope these kids realize how important the gospel really is and how it literally is a way of life. The spirit came to me so strong and just whispered that nothing else is ever more important in life than the gospel and our relationship with Heavenly Father. Let's just it was a powerful moment for me and I know the Church is true!

We had a cool experience with a pest control guy that came to spray our house because there was a scorpion in it. we started talking and at the beginning he was kind of offensice but by the end we gave him a Book of Mormon and committed him to read 3 Nephi chapter 11!

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, yesterday was the dedication of the Phoenix Arizona Temple!!!! it was one of the coolest feelings every! first, on Saturday we got to watch the cultural celebration where youth from my first area got to dance and sing for the prophet! Also-J*, my recent convert from Phoenix got to participate too! Then on Sunday we got a special recommend to go to the stake center (which is an extension of the temple) to watch the dedication. President Monson and President Uchtdorf were there and President Monson did the dedicatory prayer! The spirit was so strong and because President Monson was dressed in all white and the dedication took place in the celestial room of the temple, which is all white, He literally looked like he was glowing. He looked like an angel from God and he was speaking with such a strong spirit that I had to pinch myself to make sure it was real! I know without a doubt that we have a living prophet on the earth today and that he is the leader of this great church! Temples are amazing and I am so blessed to have seen the dedication of 2 temples this year in this great valley of the sun!

I love you all, thanks for the support! Have a great week!

Sister Dewey

BOM is the bomb!

This week was amazing! I learned so much it's crazy! Every day and every week there is so much that happens it's hard to remember even a week ago what happened! I love being a missionary and I love being busy! At transfers this week, Sister B and I luckily didn't get transferred, but we are going to be the sister training leaders here in M still! Also we now have 2 sister district leaders and 1 elder district leader in our zone. So my district is all sisters! #Sistrict

First off, I learned the importance of the Book of Mormon. My testimony of that book has grown so much. I have recently started reading it over again looking for ways that I can use the Atonement in my life. It's amazing how the Atonement is literally in everything that we do. Looking at the people that we are working with, it is amazing to see the difference between those that are reading the Book of Mormon and progressing and those that aren't. I can testify that the Book of Mormon combined with the spirit is the most powerful tool in conversion. T*, who is amazing, has been reading and is already in the book of Mosiah! We got the opportunity to take her to the Temple Visitors center this week and that was one of the times I have felt the Spirit the most on my mission. After watching the Joseph Smith-the Prophet of the Restoration and watching God's plan for His family T* was in tears (therefore I was in tears haha). She testified that as she has been reading the Book of Mormon all her questions and concerns have been answered and then that night at the temple they were all confirmed by the spirit. She said she felt the most comfort and peace she has felt in her entire life! Brothers and Sisters, the Church is true. That was probably the highlight of my week by far.

We also got to see the B* family and we are still waiting for Brother B* to come home from South Dakota for his work so that the family can be baptized all together! He is still working on His testimony of Joseph Smith, and I believe it's because he, or the family, doesn't read the Book of Mormon that often. But they are preparing have a goal to be baptized on December 6th!

We are still working with a part member family, the K's, who the boys are planning on being baptized on November 28th. It's amazing how the gospel is complex and we can never know everything, but at the same time its simple enough that a child can understand.

We are working with a less active/part member family, the R*'s and they are finally to the point where they will say prayers in front of us! We heard that this past week, brother R* said his first prayer in front of his parents in like 20 years! It's a miracle! The work is truly hastening!

I don't have a lot of time... And there were so many other miracles and amazing things that happened, but just know that I truly have a testimony of this gospel. And I know that true doctrine, understood, changes behavior. I know that Joseph Smith did in reality see God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I know that families can be together Forever and I know that the peace that comes from living the Gospel is worth every sacrifice! I love you all! Thank you for your support!

Sister Dewey

"A baby starfish!"

Happy Halloween! (11/3/14)

Happy Late Halloween Everyone! This past week was really fun and full of changes! This week is the end of another transfer! thankfully Sister B and I will both be staying!

First off, we moved houses today! We moved into a couples home in our ward, the S*. Their home is super nice and we are excited to get to know them!

Also-BREAKING NEWS! the weather has finally changed! after so long of being hot! On Halloween it was 94 degrees and then once it hit November it literally changed overnight and we woke up and it was in the 70's! Sister Bullard and I were actually cold! Good things are coming my friend.

This week we have been working a lot with our recent convert K*, and teaching his non-member mother, M*! She is this super sweet and sassy black lady that could talk for hours and you would never get bored listening to her, I just love her! We found out that this whole time she thought we were nuns. hahah wouldn't be the first time someone has thought that of us.

We had our ward Trunk or Treat party on Tuesday and it was a huge success! We had so many investigators and less-actives there! And they all were fellowshipped and had fun and interacted with the members! And now we are helping a couple families return back to activity! You never know the impact that can have on someone.

We are still working with T*! It was so cool, we went over to teach the word of Wisdom and she had no problem with it! Then we started talking about when she wants to be baptized and she said after her divorce is final so that she can be baptized with her own name! She is really taking it seriously! So we set a date for December 13th! I'm so excited, it will be an early birthday present for me!

A part member family we are working with, less-active husband and non-member wife, went to the phoenix temple open house on Saturday and LOVED IT! They have a goal now to be sealed in the temple together as a family! and before we left, we took his cigarettes and lighter and threw them in the trash when we got home! not sure how happy he was with us, but in the eternal perspective, it's better that way :)

On Thursday we went on Exchanges with Hermana S. I love her, she is so sweet. She taught me some more Spanish, like greetings and small talk stuff. Also we had the coolest experience with skyping my friend A* from Home! So I didn't really know who she was, I know she went to Glencoe but I had never had a conversation with her. And I saw that she had liked one of my posts on facebook, so I messaged her asking what she liked about it. I came to find out that she has been less active for like 10 years and her grandparents are in the Evergreen ward. We started talking and I found out she is doing the BYU-I pathway program and is reading the Book of Mormon for the first time. I asked if we could Skype and we set up a time for Thursday. I felt the spirit so strong during that lesson as we talked and testified about the Book of Mormon. We talked about how the Holy Ghost changes us and makes us want to do better. By the end of the Lesson and after some teary eyed moments, she committed to go to church on sunday with her grandparents!

Halloween was fun, we got to help some less-actives make cookies and cake and get their costumes ready. Then we had to be home by 6 that night. So we pretty much spent the night packing for the move today. We had stake conference this weekend and got to hear from Elder Bradley Foster, Elder Christofferson and President Uchtdorf over a state-wide broadcast!

Lastly, on Sunday we took a trip out to the desert! We are working with a part-member family and the 2 boys, J and C are going to be baptized! They are so funny and get off topic really easily. So we are always looking for fun games to play while we teach. We also got to visit some other less-actives and see all their horses and their animals! I love it out here! and I love the work! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Sister Dewey

"When we took away his cigarettes and lighter!"