Conversion

Happy Martin Luther King Day! And because of that, the library is

closed, so therefore there won't be any pictures this week either...

So sorry. But I hope you had a wonderful week! I sure did, every week

on the mission is wonderful and filled with interesting experiences!

We had a cool district meeting about our earthly fathers and Heavenly

Father. We took turns sharing attributes about our fathers. I said dad

was kind, patient, loving, smart, witty, and a rockstar. Aka, I pretty

much have the best dad in the world! But the cool part was as everyone

was sharing about their dad I realized that each of these attributes

relate to our Heavenly Father completely.

We were walking on the street playing some football with

these little kids and talking about Jesus when we saw this lady

walking her dog, so we started walking with her and found out she

doesn't believe in God, never has and never will... It was so sad. So

then we looked and saw these 3 guys playing basketball in their

driveway. One of them has a "rip city" shirt on so I was like heck

yeah, I'm going to talk to them! We started talking about the Blazers

and Oregon and found out that 2 of the guys were brothers and are

probably moving to Oregon soon! They asked us who we were and we got

started talking about religion. M is only 18 but he is the most

well versed about religion person I have met on my mission so far. He

truly is searching for the truth. He hawked us some challenging

questions and I just prayed for the spirit the whole time. We got to

testify of the Restoration and invite them to find out for themselves

if it was true. The other kid, A*, is Christian and said he

wouldn't mind having us over to his house and this is parents are

probably interested! At the end of lesson I said "if I make this shot

then you all have to come to church". I missed the first one because I

had my bag around me (threw off my balance... Haha) so I took it off

and made 5 baskets in a row, so now they all get to come to church at

least once! It was really cool to see how Heavenly Father led us to

play football with the little kids which led us to talk to the lady

walking her dog which led us to the kids playing basketball.

We had a member come with us to visit this guy named N*. He has a

disability and it's hard for him to remember things so we teach him

really slowly. We're nearing hate end of the lesson and it was going

alright. Then the member starting Bearing her testimony and holy cow

the whole lesson changed!! The spirit was so strong as she testified

of the Book of Mormon and promised him blessings if he read. It was

cool how even though he may not understand everything we say or read,

he could still feel the spirit, especially when the member testified!!

Members are seriously the BEST!!

We had zone interviews and it was great!! Sister Bullard,

the zone leaders and i gave a training to the zone about the Nature of

God, how life is like a football game, and how to come to know God

through revelation. The AP's said that out of all the zones our

gaining was the best because we are super United, energetic, and

enthusiastic! Maricopa is the Best! I am just scared that in a week

and a half when transfers come that I will leave this amazing place!!

An example of how amazing Maricopa is: for lunch after interviews we

went to subway and met this super cool guy named D*. He started

talking to us and asked about Joseph Smith. So we taught him the

restoration, gave him a book of Mormon, and got his address for the

elders to go by! No big deal, this all happened in subway.

We had a lesson with A* this week and went over the baptism

interview questions! She is so far good to go for her baptism on

Saturday! We are so excited for her and we will continue to pray for

her!

We talked to this crazy girl on the street. She is a

sophomore, Protestant, and very against MORMONS. She started talking

to us and bringing up all this anti material. She had a book with her

that talked about all the wrong things about Mormonism. Apparently she

goes on mission trips around the world too. I asked her what her

purpose was in her mission trips and she said to go out and tell the

world how Mormonism is wrong. It was pretty sad and pitiful if you ask

me. But we were very kind and then just went our way.

We taught a Jehovah's Witness this week about the restoration and he

actually took it surprisingly well! He pretty much accepted Joseph

Smith and said he would pray about it and soft committed to baptism if

he found out he knew it was true. He still is insistent on giving us

his Bible and pamphlets though. So we will see how it goes!

Last night was the best ever! Our recent convert T* spoke at the

mission president's devotional! When she spoke it was so wonderful!

She was a natural and truly spoke with the spirit! I got a little

teary-eyed as she testified of this gospel! It was so cool to see how

truly converted she is. We found out she went to the Gilbert

Temple to do baptisms for the dead for the first time! Every time she

talks about her conversion she just shines and light is just beaming

from her! I love her so much and I'm so grateful to be a part of her

conversion. I know without a doubt that this gospel is true and that

it truly does change our lives if we let it. May we ever be more

converted today than we were yesterday! I love you all! Have a

wonderful week!

Sister Dewey

For Sis. Dewey's Birthday!

Temple day with the Zone

Sis. Dewey's birthday!

Christmas morning with sis. Dewey & sis. B

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