Christmas Call from Croatia

We had a big Christmas treat today when we got a call from Ryan in Croatia. No, he didn't call from this big phone, but our hearts were that big as we spoke with him. He sounds great. He said, "I am happier than I have ever been in my life!" Selfless service to the Lord does that to a person.

We endured a bit of technical difficulty with Skype to start out with, but that soon passed. Heidi and her family were patched in from Colorado; Dave and Angie brought their families to our house for the call. We all had a wonderful time.

Elder and Sister Manley, the couple missionaries serving with Ryan in Osijek, allowed the missionaries to come into their home and use their computers to call home. We really appreciate their generosity and all the good they do for Ryan and his companion. When I sent a message to Sister Manley thanking them for their help, she responded, "Elder Dixon was beaming when he finished his call."

Excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Subject: Merry Christmas 2008!

Hey fam!

Whats crackin?????? We are keeping it real in Osijek. Christmas is sweet up here. Croats = catholics mostly = also celebrate Christmas pretty hard core, so it's sweet.

BTW, I got that package. Idk if I told you or not. That was huge.... So we are on day 8 tonight! Haha, I have been digging the gifts... weve got a tree, and tons of gifts under it... we are loved. Weve also gotten presents from like 5 english students. Were pretty much pampered over here :]

This week i got a package from ang and my (thanks!... we are waiting til the 25th, as it were.) and letters from both grandparents and mike baser! Man, I feel so loved. Thanks everyone!!!

Welp, this week was fresh. We had a Christmas party for members slash english students slash investigators that a ton of people came to. Maja was there, pretty much the whole branch, and tons of other english students! It was fun. We played the signs game, and Croats love that...

Elder Giberson and I have been tracting in two areas lately that weve chosen and have felt good about. We havent seen much success, but yesterday we met this rad guy. We showed him a Book of Mormon, shared a bit about it. THen he started to flip through it and basically examine it. He said he had heard some bad talk about this book, but he'd have to read it for himself. We said that we knew for ourselves that this was a good book, and that it was of God. We talked about how he could know for himself through the Holy Ghost. It was such a pleasant conversation. We gave it to him, and we are going to meet with him again. I know God's guidance is in this work. Actually, this work is saturated with God's guidance, as long as we are willing to keep his commandments and submit our will to his. It really is His work and His glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Well, I know for sure that Maja has been prepared to recieve the gospel. We are going to do all we can do to help her enter into the covenant of baptism with a burning testimony of the Savior and his work. Please keep praying for her.

Hey, so today, Elder Giberson woke up and couldn't hear very well at all out of his left ear... So, we hit up some q tips when we went shopping today, and came home, he cleaned his ears, and now he's good. Moral of the story??... We need some ear candles. It's no emergency, but in your next package, some ear candles would be greatly appreciated :] ...

This week, we went to an Adventist chruch Christmas program. It was so sweet slash erie how similar it was to a Mormon ward. They had like a primary aged group sing and give little memorized comments. They had a solid choir. There were old people, young people, and all in between. Afterwards, we all got friendshipped by like 3 people. It was a sweet program. It was a huge reminder to me that we are all the same, we're all children of God, bro's and sisters. Croats are different from Americans, but we have 50 times more in common than we do differences.

Well folks, i better go, but know that i know this gospel is God's on earth. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be as happy as I am. The gospel brings real peace, joy, comfort, strength, and guidance. Thanks for everything, especially christmas style everything. I love you so much!! I'm so excited to talk to the fam!!

Love,

Elder Dixon

Almost Christmas in Croatia

It's almost Christmas, when we get talk with Ryan for an hour!  We are coordinating with Elder and Sister Manley, the couple missionaries in Osijek, to use Skype to talk with Ryan on Christmas Day.  We are grateful for modern technology!

We are excited to hear about the miracles happening in the lives of the Croatian saints and thrilled to know that Ryan is experiencing those miracles at this special time of year.  As Ryan explains below, "Hvala Nebeskom Ocu" (thanks to Heavenly Father).

Excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Subject: Holler shot callers...

Hey!

WHat is up?? Wow, how is life? I got a couple packages @ zone conference aka pure joy. I walked into the church in Zagreb, and like 3 elders in the first couple minutes were all "Elder Dixon, have you seen your huge package?" That thing was a beast... thanks :)

So, were chattin it up in 10 days! Laterrrrrrrrrr... I cant believe ive been in Croatia for 2.5 months... Its really amazing.

So pops asked what Bok Bok means. Sorry i didnt explain last time... Bok (Boak) means hi or good bye - either one - in Croation. Bok bok is just like happier i guess. You say it fast bok bok! You know what else is cool? For the teenagers to do the slang "whats up? nothing", Croats say "Where are you? I'm here" Its tight! Im bringing it to America...

Osijek is great. We met with Maja again. We ran into her randomly on the street before then and she told us she had been obeying the Word of Wisdom for a week and a half! (We hadnt seen her for a few days due to zone conference slash english and stuff) She said she felt so good. Im so happy to see her living that commandment, b/c we gain testimonies as we live the commandments. We met with her, and we feel she doesnt yet have a very strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. I think what kindof happened was that when she read the Book of Mormon, she found it perfectly matched her beliefs. She never had to really seek out to see if it was true, because she agreed. BUt when she found it didn't exactly - as far as the Godhead and stuff, the seed wasn't very deeply planted and got scorched in the sun, if you will... But, this brings about an opportunity to put the gospel to the test, to experiment on the word and see if it is true. We all have to get to that point just like Joseph Smith - Have a desire to know. Then, when we put forth effort through study, pondering, and prayer, all with faith, we WILL get an answer. That's what we all need -- a witness through the Holy Ghost - the sure witness that Jesus is the Christ and that His Gospel - the one way to true happiness - is here today in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. THat's what I want for Maja. I really don't know all the reasons she wanted to delay baptism, but I do know that this is Christ's perfecting pathway to Heavenly Father, and I know that the Atonement is real, and that Heavenly Father wants each of his children back in his presence, experiencing all of his blessings for eternity. Therefore... it's my/our job to do all I/we can to get his children back! It's the purpose of life in a nutshell... PLEASE PRAY FOR MAJA!

So Zone Conference was the bomb. THe meeting was inspired slash so applicable for our Area. Mission records were matched this last month or two since our last zone conference as far as baptismal dates and new investigators and other things. Miracles are occuring here, folks. The other part of zone conference, we had Christmas skits. Each district made a skit. We kindof decided to dodge the shame and rock a video instead.
Haha, it might be the funniest video Ive ever seen. Hopefully Sister Manley didnt tell you too much, because I want it to be a surprise when it pops up in the mail. Its quality footage... All I can say is my experience from the Euporea Concert and the Nutcracker proved valuable in producing this beast... :]

Word made it to Osijek that David Archeleta put out a cd. Is that true? How is dat?

My language is improving. I understand more, and speak a little better. I heard some spanish the other day, and I have officially lost my spanish. I could hardly pick out words. Its been replaced slavic style.

So, last sunday, the 2nd counselor in the district presidency came to talk to us. His testimony is so strong. He was just such a good man and leader. Its so amazing to see how the fruits of the gospel are the same where-ever you go -- it creates deeply rooted good men and women. I see it alone in our branch here. He gave a wonderful talk and lesson @ church. Then he gave a wonderful setting apart for a member who is the new executive secretary for our branch. People would thank him and compliment him, but i heard him give the same response at least 3 times. He said "Hvala Nebeskom Ocu", which means, "thanks to Heavenly Father". It was so cool to hear how this awesome strong good man gave all the glory and credit to God. He truly knew where his real strength lyed, and gave that source credit. I truly know that anything good that has come from my life has come from God. He is the author of all good.

Welp, I better peace out.  I love you guys more than you can imagine. Take care! Merry Christmas!!

LOVE

Elder Dixon

I Love You, Osijek

The photo below shows Ryan standing in front of graffiti that proclaims, "I Love You, Osijek."  Although we can't imagine Ryan ever painting graffiti in this way, he certainly shares the thought written on the wall.  He loves serving in Osijek and is delighted that he and Elder Giberson will continue there for at least the next transfer.

Excerpts from Ryan's last email include:

So, things are going pretty good here.  We've had some issues with Maja's baptism coming up.  She finally came to church and loved it.  While she was there, though, we could tell she had some problems understanding or accepting the nature of the Godhead, because of some stuff she said.  So we met her in the middle of the week to talk to her about Baptism, but she started talking alot about her beliefs about the Godhead.  She has some false ideas.  Pretty much, we spent almost two hours talking, bearing our testimonies, and trying to relate to her that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are seperate beings united perfectly in purpose, and that they are not the same individual.  Elder Giberson is the man, and explained those things so perfectly.  You should have seen  him... All in all, she said that she wasn't ready to be baptised.  She said she hoped that we werent disappointed.  We had to explain that we were devastated!  But she is no lost cause.  I know that Satan took a step in, and that he doesn't want Maja to enter into this covenant.  She is still meeting with us and keeping smaller commitments, but doesnt have a baptismal date for now.  PLEASE PRAY FOR HER!!  I want to sent a mass email to every person who has ever prayed before to pray for Maja to gain a sure testimony and enter into the waters of baptism by covenant - to really come unto Christ.  I don't know what may come in the future.  But I do know that the Savior has the power to change hearts and that the Book of Mormon with the Holy Ghost has the power to convert souls to the Savior.  I read a quote by President Eyring that I heard this week.  "Faith is not just to know that Christ can do something. Faith is to know that He will do something."  I know Christ will change Maja's heart, and change us for the better if we have faith and do all that we can do to bring that change about. 

I've been impressed lately with the real power of change the Savior brings through living his Gospel or applying his sacrifice for us.  The savior has the power to bring about real change in our hearts.  Real change for the better, real progress towards Heavenly Father's presence in heaven.  The Gospel is true and real, and the Jesus Christ lives today!  I love that the atonement of the Savior is real!

I love Elder Wirthlin.  It is sad that he is gone.  But Dad put it in perspective for us all.  He's simply continuing God's work with other men of God on the other side.

Welp, Peace Out, Cuvajte Se! Važi? Važi...

Late, I love you.

Elder Dixon

Thanksgiving in Croatia

Thanks to Sister Manley, who requested Claudia's pie recipes earlier in the week, the missionaries in Osijek ate home made pie for Thanksgiving! It sounds like the pie made lots of people very happy.

Excerpts from Ryan's email:

Subject: Happy T Giving!

Hey fam!

It was nice to hear from you! Thanksgiving sounded fun with all the fam - the nephews, the neices, the cousins... so tight. Thanksgiving was pretty sweet in Osijek. We couldnt find a Turkey, so we had a Croatian delicasy... Sarma. Its like sour cabbage wrapped around like seasoned beef in soup. It sounds bimm* style, but it was actually pretty good. Plus, we had mom's pies... puhhhhhhhh... It was so good. But not quite as good. They were made by human hands, not clodhopper hands, so they werent as good. But they were close enough and i loved it. I think you got a pick of me with my arm around this guy that looks like steve nash with a mustache and wings and a jacket??? Thats Dario. Hes come to basically every activity since 2002, but has never gotten baptised. But he loved moms pie. He ate every kind and like 5 chocolate pieces. I think you got a pic of Lydia too -- shes got blondish grayish hair, and she made the Sarma. Shes an awesome cook. One of my fave members.

So, I got a call from President Hill this week... and... Im staying in Osijek! With Elder Giberson! Im excited man. Im done adjusting to Croatia and oriented and stuff, so now we can really get some work done. Elder Nelson is going to Pula on the coast, and Elder Jenson, our District leader, is staying as well and is going to train the only elder coming in this transfer. It will be sweet to have the new elder come in. We are such a young district.

So, I will be here for at least 9 more weeks. We have 9 wk transfers. So, if you want to mail something right to our house, send it here:

Elder Dixon
Josipa Hutlera 25
31000 Osijek
Croatia

That would work the best. If you send it to the mission home, we have to wait till we see President again, which can be like a month. So Heidi, that might work best with those BBs that i love :)

Yeah, the Manleys are tight, btw. I see them nearly every day. We are at least in contact with them everyday. She loves mom. And mom's recipies.

Its cold here but the weather is randomish. I dont really need a coat today! And it snowed like a week.5 ago.

Maja came to church this week!!!! We see her at the church 3 times usually, but it was so nice to see her walk through the door at 10 oclock on Sunday morning... She really enjoyed it. Our members liked her. Maybe too much haha. They kind of asked her lots of questions. They like to do like testimony checks to investigators, and can be kind of in their faceish. But Maja is strong ha. It went well. The talks and the lessons were perfect. She still is having trouble with understanding the importance of quitting cappuccino and has some issues with hanging on to her old church's beliefs and stuff. So pray for her!! She needs it!! Pray for us too!! We need it like its nobody's business.

I hope everyone is doing good. Its so good to hear from you all. I know this Gospel is true. That's my greatest joy... that it's real! I love it.

Cuvajte se! aka Take care of yourselves! Love you!

LOVE

Elder Dixon

*Explanation: "bimm" is Ryan's acronym for "barf in my mouth"

Croatian Meat

We don't know much about the hanging meat in the following photo, except that it is obviously a bit different than we are used to here at home! Ryan looks healthy, so eating the local cuisine must be ok!

Excerpt from Ryan's November 24th email:

Subject: FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!

Hellooooo...

What is ep??

THings are going well here. Maja is still doing great. Minus the fact that she hasnt been to church yet... But! Her mom gave her permission, which is big. Maja really wanted her blessing before she came to church. Her mom is a non practicing catholic, but really thought maja should be going to the catholic church, cuz thats their religion. True Croatian style... But shell be here this sunday! Pray for her! She also had a couple issues to over come with the Word of Wisdom, just like social coffey, tea, and wine... Shes not an alchoholic or anything, but were helping her quit for good. Shes awesome though... Just a pleasure to teach.

So, its freezing here. It snowed for a couple mins the other day. I think ill survive, but its cold... THat reminds me... I will be making a purchase tomorrow - a phatty jacket that will be about 300 bones... then i will be warm for winter. Just a heads up for my bank account.

Do you know what's ooc? My first transfer is this weekend... Where did the time go, guys? Idk, but I have a solid feeling that Elder Giberson and I will stay in Osijek, but you never know... Maybe I will open up Bosnia with my MTC companions or something... JK, but I think ill be here. Ill let you know next week!

Mom, as far as food goes here, we have pretty much everything. We dont have sliced bread, just like french bread. We dont have... i really cant think of anything. But we have an hour for dinner slash lunch, so any meals we could make and eat in an hour, I would really appreciate. Could you send pancakes recipe again? I couldnt print that day and the email has gotten deleted since then by the email service...

Dad! I read a talk that you have to read. Actually everyone should read it, but I think dad would love it. Its by Krešimir Cosic... aka my hero. Its a speech that was given @ byu on October 24, 1994, and its just about his time at BYU and how its effected his life. It talks about his conversion, basketball, Croatia, and the war, and I love it. I think youd really like it. He really is my hero. Krešo Cosic has done more for the salvation for a Croat, save the Savior and Joseph Smith only. I hope thats not sac-religious! I think its true, though! He is such a good man... With amazing love for the Lord. I want to send you a documentary about him that we have up here. I think you could find that talk on the internet. If not let me know.

Welp, life is pretty sweet here in O-town. There is black mold appearing on our ceiling... I guess its pretty common in croatia. Its because Croatia has a ...moist...climate. heh. My language is improving slowly. We went to a member's house the other day. Her name is Lidija aka Lydia. We went there my first week here, i think. I remember that time, I couldn't understand squat.... But this time, I actually understood what we were talking about and could add something here and there. So, Im learning. Im not exactly dreaming in pure Croatian yet, but I did dream of Brother Neil Jones saying like two words in Croatian. Haha, pretty funny huh? I dont remember which words exactly, but i remember the case endings (croatian grammar style), so it was definately croatian something. Haha...

Mom asked how the food is... really we dont eat alot of legit croatian food. Most of the Croatian food ive eaten here has been baked goods, like bread and pastries, and that is PUH. There are exactly 1284986387654897646 bakeries in Osijek. Ive heard some horror stories about eating at peoples houses though... Im a little nervous.

Welp, i better go. I love you peeps. Take care. Thanks for all your prayers and support. I pray for you every day! Peace out.

Love

Elder Dixon

Friends in Osijek

It is great to see photos of Ryan and his friends in Croatia. The following shot was taken in the apartment of Elder and Sister Manley during a visit from the District President and his family to Osijek.

Back row: Elder Dixon, Elder Giberson, Elder Manley, Elder Jensen, Nikola (branch financial clerk)

Front row: Sister Sambunjak with two daughters, Sister Manley, President Sambunjak (district president)

Excerpt from Ryan's November 17th email:

Subject: What ep????????

Dear family slash fellow missionaries...

Welp, things are going good in Osijek. Yes, 30 degrees and 90% humidity sounds about right. Its kind of chilly... Elder Giberson and I are both wusses in the cold, but well make it. Hes from Austin Texas. But dont be alarmed... I am fine.

We are still teaching Maja. We had an amazing lesson with her the other day. We were talking about scripture study and prayer, and we read Doctrine and Covenants 59: 7-9 about how you should study it out in your mind and then ask, and if it be right, you will know with burning in the bosom, etc. She was reading it and stopped herself after verse 8 and said, "Thats exactly how i felt! Like about the book of mormon!" We asked her to explain, then she proceeded to perfectly describe how the Spirit feels. It was one of the best explainations ive ever heard. She is so sweet. PLEASE continue to pray for her. I pray that she can have a deep testimony that will grow after baptism and support her. She hasnt been to church yet just cuz theres always something on sunday. But we are meeting alot and we are going to make sure she is there next week. Shes the bomb. She has read all the standard works and pretty much eats up everything we give her. We hooked her up with a Liahonal -the march edition - and she loved it. She just loves God, and this gospel has added so much truth. She loves the scriptures and the words of the prophets.

We are teaching 8 hours of english every week, so we are hoping to see some fruits from those labors... Theres alot of great people coming to those classes, so were hoping to help them be interested and eventually accept the gospel.

Hows Barack doin? Packing up the bags for the white house eh? Cool man. People ask us about the election all the time. Most Croatians know 5 times as much about the US than I do. Were just like, I dont know whats going on over there... Hopefully he can be inspired. Thats a heavy load.

Grandma Dixons painting and related events sounded so cool. Primary kids singing = pure joy. Thats awesome.

Welp, the gospel is amazing. Its done alot for me lately. It really is real. Christ really atoned for our sins, sorrows, and pains. And his true church with his actual authority is on the earth today. What good news...

I hope you are all doing good. God bless.

PIDFY!!

Love,

Elder Dixon

Pictures from Croatia!

Happy Thanksgiving! Here in Mesa, Arizona on Thanksgiving Day, we are really thankful for Ryan and the work he is doing in Croatia. Sorry about the delay in posting his emails.

This week, we received three photos of Ryan from Sister Manley, who serves with her husband in Osijek. She sent and email to Claudia asking for her pie recipes. Apparently Ryan had mentioned that his mother makes great pies.

So, today you will receive three weeks' worth of updates, each with a photo courtesy of Sister Manley.

The following photo of Ryan and his companion, Elder Giberson, was taken in the cemetery at Vukovar, a city that was almost destroyed during the war. The photo was taken after the holiday called "Day of the Dead." It sounds much like our Memorial Day.

Excerpts from Ryan's letter for November 10th:

Hey family! What is up... I hope all is well. The weather sounds quality, and Thanksgiving is coming up.

Angie's letter was pure inspiration to me, btw. Your friends, who have been coming to church, sound like amazing people. Jtlyk, it is definately possible for h-core catholics to enter into the waters of baptism... That happens alot in Croatia. That's so sweet that they just started goingto church on their own. Im sure your testimonies on your blog before and just your example played a real role in their desire to learn more. Example combined with testimony is unmatchable in missionary work, I think. It doesn't matter who you are, how smart you are, how young or old you are. We are who we are for a reason, and if we will just live the gospel, and open our mouths and share whats precious to us with love with others, miracles will occur. I loved your testimony from your blogger. I printed a permanent copy of that beast.

So, we made a nice little phone call to President Hill this week... Maja has set a baptismal date for December 13th, 2008!!! How sweet is that eh?? Man, she's so amazing. And so amazingly prepared. She has read the entire Book of Mormon (minus some war chapters) and the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, and has restarted the Book of Mormon, and is in Alma as of last friday. She loves the Book of Mormon! We watched the Restoration with her the other day, and shared our testimonies, and talked about the importance of always strengthening your testimony. It really is so important to strengthen and fortify our testimonies every day through study, pondering, and prayer. She is preparing for that day... Pray for her to become fully converted and to gain a personal relationship with the Savior. She is so sweet.

Saturday, we went to visit an inactive member, named Zvjezdana (Zvyezdahnah). We went to just meet with her, get to know her, share a lesson, and help her to start coming back to church again. We went over there, and it turns out that part of the reason she hasn't been to church in a while is because her brother was very sick with cancer in the hospital. So after talking for a while we said we would come by the next day to bring the Sacrament. We called on Sunday, and she told us her brother died but said to come over anyway. We did, and we brought the sacrament. It was so sad man. She was so devastated. SHe wasnt able to say goodbye and she had a way hard time dealing with that. We gave her the sacrament and a blessing. She felt better after that and was alot more peaceful by the end of our meeting. She is goig to try to start coming to church again. She still is having a hard time though. Pray for her! She slash that family need all the help they can get.

We are planning to meet with Darko and Silvija tomorrow. Hes the hunter, ya know? We are excited about that. They are such cool people.

Ive been thinking about the importance of being sincere reciently. Sincere in our prayers, sincere in our testimony, and in our desires to do good... Ive found that when we have sincere love people, its not hard to share a sincere testimony, or offer a sincere prayer in their behalf, or to serve them. I want to strive to have more sincere love and charity for the people. Love cancels out fear, and leads to miracles.

Welp, i love you all. You... complete me. Heh. But really thanks for everything - for being the perfect family for me. I pray for you every day. The Savior loves each of us, and is aware of us. Im sure of that! Take care!!!

Love Elder Dixon

New Slovenian Meetinghouse

Although Ryan is serving in Osijek, Croatia, the mission headquarters is in Ljubljiana, Slovenia.  The November 1st issue of the Church News had a nice article about a new chapel recently dedicated in Ljubljiana.  We understand this is the first new church meetinghouse in the mission.   We think that is pronounced "Lube - li - ana" with a silent "j".  Ryan is quite a distance from Ljubljiana, so we doubt he was able to attend the dedication.  What a blessing this chapel will be to the saints in that part of the world.

Excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Subject: 1 Munf in Osijek......

Helloooo!

How's it going fam? 

Welp Osijek is still great.  I told you about Maja I believe...  She is so amazing, guys.  We had the first lesson with her, and she committed to read 3 Nephi 11, and we told her she could read more if she wanted.  So the day before we met again, she called us just to make sure we would be able to meet the next day.  Elder Giberson asked her if she had read from the Book of Mormon.  She told him that she had basically read the entire thing, except she only read the chaper headings for the war chapters!!  She then proceeded to basically bare her testimony, that she knew the Book of Mormon was of God.  She said really liked Alma and Nephi and that she loved the doctrine about the state of the soul between death and the resurrection. She said that the Book of Mormon really clarified what she knew from the Bible...  She went to Bible School in England for 3ish years.  Thats how she knows such amazing english.  Were teaching her in english btw. 

So, then we met the next day to teach the plan of salvation.  We started out with the questions - where did we come from? why are we here? where are we going?...  Then we asked her what her beliefs were.  She then basically told us the entire lesson we had planned, minus a tiny bit of restored truth. She actually taught me alot - made me think of things in a way I never had before.  She covered everything -adam and eve all the way to life after death.  She included a little of what she learned ing the Book of Mormon. Basically, we just recapped and filled in some blanks, and set up another appointment.  We have met with her since, and that was a great meeting to. We had talked to her a little bit about baptism and asked her to pray about it.  We asked her when we met again what she felt about Joseph Smith, and also the Book of Mormon.  She said she had prayed and felt good that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that Joseph Smith was a prophet.  She said everytime she reads, she feels good about it.  Also, she said she feels like she should be baptised...  I was freaking out inside.  Man, she has been so prepared.  SHe has a ways to go, but she is progressing so well. She is so knowledgable.   We are really trying to help her gain a personal relationship with heavenly father - to feel the gospel in her heart, not just in her mind.  Shes so sweet .  Keep her in her prayers. 

We tracted into a sweet family last night.  We gave a brief first lesson, talked for a long while and left Book of Mormons with them.  We just talkd to Darko and Silvija (Sylvia), the parents, but they have a daughter that lives with them and two other kids.  They seemed touched by the restoration. Darko is kind of large and in charge with a huge beard, and he had buckets and bags of thousands of empty bullets just chillin in his kitchen...  Turns out hes a way nice guy, and he likes to hunt...  We are going to visit with them next week.

We revolutionized Osijek english classes, and distributed 10k fliers last week.  We sacrificed some proselyting time, but we have over 100 people attending english classes twice a week!  Thats pretty much unheard of in a town like Osijek.  Elder Nelson, another elder hear, really went to bat to make sure we got the word out, and its really paid off.  Now over 100 people a week will be meeting with us, learning English in a dedicated church building, and having the opportunity to hear two spiritual thoughts a week...  We already have investigators from English classes that started a week ago, including Maja.  We were passing out flyers when she spotted Elder Giberson. 

Btw, we do do alot of contacting and sometimes tracting.  But contacting we do alot.  We are trying to work out better ways to find.  But the answer is yes, we contact alot and tract too. 

jtlyk, I am very safe here.  It sounds like granhopper may have had a bad dream about me or something...  I feel safer here than some places in M-town.  Were pretty safe. 

So, they dont celebrate Halloween here, but they rock whats called the Day of the Dead.  Its a catholic holiday, and 99.999999% of Croatia is catholic. They go and but bokays (heh...) of big flowers and candles on deceased relatives graves, and it looks sweet.  The gaves here all have giant head stones, so everyones grave is like a monument.  But theres so many candles, its sweet.

I better bounce.  I hope everyone is doing good.  You are in my prayers. Take care.

Love

Elder Dixon

The "Official" Missionary Picture

Ryan's missionary picture is now hanging on the wall of the church, flanked by pictures of his missionary buddies. We walk by and say hello on the way to our meetings each week. Ryan knows how his Mom touched Eric's face each week. Now that is happening to Ryan!

If you look really close, you can see the reflection of Mark in the background, snapping a photo of Ryan's photo!

Some excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Subject: Holler from Osijek..............................

Hey fam!!  How are you??  I just read some quality e-mails. 

Thanks for the comment about what Elder Eyring said, pops.  I've felt that silent prayer you mentioned about the gift of tongues.  I didn't have like a singular, out of control experience, but I feel like I'm getting help with the language beyond what my own work can produce.  We only have 30 minutes to study the language a day, and I feel like its a miracle any time I notice improvement. The gift of tongues is real.  Ive experienced it in miniature ways.  So thanks for the prayers... Thats where it starts!

So things are sweet in O-town.  We experienced a sweet miracle this passed week.  We were passing out fliers for english classes (which ill mention later in the e mail) and this girl named Maja approached Elder Giberson. Shes 25ish.  She told him she was interested in learning more about our church, and she also wanted to go to a church meeting.  So Elder Giberson set up an appointment, so we could share a lesson with her.  We shared a lesson with her about the restoration of Christ's true church.  (She lived in England for 3 years, and speaks almost flawless English, so we were teaching her in English).  She was really accepting of it, and was truely touched.  I know she was.  It was obvious she had a desire to know if what we were sharing was true.  We shared an English and a Croatian copy of the Book of Mormon to read and to Pray about.  She is so tight...  We can't wait to meet with her again.  Remember to keep Maja in your prayers.   When we discussed w/ her her religious background it was obvious she has been prepared to hear and embrace the gospel.  THe Lord is so mindful of all his children, and wants them to come and experience the fulness of life and happiness available through the restored Gospel.  His greatest work and glory really is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

We also met another flawless English speaker the other day.  He is a professional, free-lance interpreter.  We started talking to him @ a cross walk and then found he knew English, and kept talking.  One of the first things he said was that he was an Atheist and there was nothing that we could do to change that.  We talked about random things (he is brilliant and liked to talk) but the conversation always returned to the Gospel.  There was one time where he was talking about all the problems today in society, especially in croatia -- like how young people dont have good role-models and how they all want more now, and other problems that society has.   When he paused, I said, "What do you think the solution is?"  He then proceed to take the Savior's name in vain, and paused for a second in order to think of
an answer.  Before he said anything else, I was all, "I think that's the solution, too".  Haha, it was funny.  But he was such a cool guy, and was actually warming up to us.  We are going to visit soon.  We are buddies. His name is Mirsad (Meer-sahd)...  That literally means, "Peace Now" in croatian.  Hes the man.

So, I have a message for Eddude.  So sometimes, after English Class, we go get coffey with 3 or 4 of our students.  Aka elder Giberson and I get orange juice or something and they get coffey.  But I was showing this lady named rosemary the pics of our family. I keep them in my bag to show to random people.  Its a sweet little friendship builder...  But Rosemary was checkin out the fam, and she was like "Who is this?  Is this your Brother?  Hes a pretty man."  Haha, she loved him so much. After freaking out for a little while about how 'pretty' Eric was, she was all "Send Eric big kiss from baka (grandma) Rosemary!"  hahaha, it was priceless...  So, there you go Ed  :)

Welp, it's time to go, but keep Osijek in your prayers!  You are the best family in the world x 10 ^ 1906373640389.  I pray for you guys everyday.

Take care.

Sa Ljubavi,

Elder Dixon

Miracles in Croatia

This week, we received a nice letter from Ryan's mission president, David Hill, along with a photo of Ryan with President and Sister Hill. Ryan is having a wonderful time in Croatia. He is adapting well to his new environment and feeling the spirit of his wonderful work.  He asks for help from all of us: "Miracles are occurring here, and I cant wait to tell them to you!  Pray your hearts out for Croatia!  I really feel like many people are prepared!  Weve just got to have the faith, the prayers, and the work!  Try to remember Jasminka and Vladimir and Bljubašuc, and our Branch in your prayers."

Here are some more excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Welp.  Osijek is doing great.  That was really cool to hear about Sister Hendrickson!  Im going to have to look up her pic at the church here!  Thats sweet that she was a greenie here too.  She probably knew a couple of my mtc teachers on the mish, aka Sister Cassinat and Sister Harper.  Tell her hello...

Its true what she said in the e-mail about osijek, "it truly does have a lot of potential!"  We had the worlds most inspired zone conference on Thursday, i am convinced.  It was actually a mission tour zone conference.  Elder Wundra, an Eastern European area 70 from Austria was the main speaker.  He talked about how we need to break free of the influence of satan, basically liberate ourselves from the fruits of Satan - doubt, discouragement, fear, sin, low expectations, and complacency just to name a few.....  Along with that message, he said that we must align our expectations and our goals with God's -- to set our goals based on the desires of our hearts and the vision of what we hope to see happening in Croatia -- and not set our goals out of discouragement from past history and other sources.  This mission has had the "eastern european" reputation, and people tend to think like "i hope to bring 1 or two souls unto christ while im here".  Elder Wundra pointed out that that goal does not reflect the desire of our hearts, or the vision of what we can see accomplished. 

It was prophesied in the dedicatory prayer that stakes will dot this land, so God has that vision, and so do we, and we all want that.  What Elder Wundra was saying was that our goals, and also our expectations/hopes need to reflect that.  He added that as we eliminate Satan's influence in our lives through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, we can accomplish God's purposes.  When we sanctify ourselves of the adversary, we sanctify ourselves of fear, doubt, discouragement, and we are filled with love, meakness, and the help / power of God. 

As I sat there listening and being taught a little by the Spirit, I really felt as if that is the future of this mission.  With courage, faith, and work, stakes will dot this land...  The Lord can do his work here as we excercise faith like we never have before.  I just hope I can live up to that standard and be humble enough to submit to God's will...  Miracles are occuring here, and I cant wait to tell them to you!  Pray your hearts out for Croatia!  I really feel like many people are prepared!  Weve just got to have the faith, the prayers, and the work!  Try to remember Jasminka and Vladimir and Bljubašuc, and our Branch in your prayers.  These people need the fruits of faith to work on their lives!  They are such amazing peeps! 

Croatia continues to be tight.  We are going to the Osijek zoo today :]

Sounds like things are good at home!  Keep it real!  I love you all...  Thank you for your h-core support. I feel it out here.  When i have little tender mercies, i think its because of my awesome supportive fam and friends back at home.  Thanks for it all... You are in my prayers.

Ryan is in Croatia!

Ryan arrived in Croatia on September 30th.  Sorry it has taken me so long to post the good news to this blog.

He is stationed in the city of Osijek, in eastern Croatia, near the Serbian border.

The Church is really young in Croatia.  Osijek has a tiny branch, with just half a dozen attendees. What a thrill it is to have Ryan out there on the frontiers of the Church.  We are confident that good people will respond to Ryan's Christlike love and desire to learn about the restored gospel.

Here is an excerpt from his last email:



Puna pozdrava iz Osijeka.....

AKA many greetings from Osijek!!

It's Oh-see-yek, jtlyk. Osijek is sweet. Things are going well here. So the other day, Vladimir, one of our investigators, took us to get chestnuts roasted on an open fire!! They actually do that here. Do you know what's funny though?? They are kind of / really nasty. It's like mushrooms... Just a noch worse than having no taste at all. Heh!

I got here, and we had like a mini teaching pool. Elder Giberson had been here for 2 months, and the couple weeks before we got here, he was throughout Croatia doing visa related things i think, idk really. But not much was going down here. So, we don't have many people investigating the church right now, but its all good. We have a couple non-progressing investigators named Jasminka (Yasmeenkah), and also Vladimir (Vlahdeemeer). I don't know either of them really well. But ill let you know about them when i do... We also met a guy named Bljuvašuc (Blyoovashooch, heh! I cant really say it without repeating myself!) on a bench the other day. We decided we wanted to talk to him, so we walked over and elder giberson introduced us. I kinda felt like I should share with him a little bit about our purpose in life. So in H-CORE broken Croatian, I said something like, "our message is that we lived with God before this life. We are his children. We are part of his family. We have a purpose here on earth." Idk if he understood anything, but it was enough to get him listening to us/elder giberson. Elder Giberson talked to him for a while about our church,
and we got his number. He lives like 30 km away or so in a tiny town. We cant get a hold of him so far, but we'll see what we can do. Pray for him! He was such a nice guy.

So, Croatia is pretty crazy. There's so many things that are just randomly different. The door handles are all bar style - no knobbers. No windows slide up and down. Only in or to the side. Showers dont hang, there on a hose. Acura's here have hondas logo slapped on them. The prism would be like. big here. Almost every house is connected somehow. They drink alot of juice. One things not dif her though - our neighbors are american! Haha, and guess what... theyre missionaries too! Just for a dif church! Evangelists, i think. Random, huh?? Our apartment is pretty desent (sp?)! I sleep on this fold out bed thing, and Elder giberson sleeps on like a half of a twin bed. Like as wide as a crib, but long enough for 6'4" Elder Giberson. Theres no dryers, so we hang dry everything. I may be buying a dryer soon........ Jk! but hang drying is an adjustment, as it were.

The branch is tight. There's been like 4 active members that have been coming every week. But, there is a former branch president named Zoran (just Zorahn...) that seriously everybody loves who has been out of town forever. He comes back this week along with another strong member slash pigeon racer, named Irvin. Im excited. Its amazing how much a difference two people can make in a branch. It will be so good for these people to have these two priesthood holders back.

Last sunday, I gave a talk and blessed the sacrament. I talked about life on earth, and the importance of having faith in Christ. I read it off word for word. Afterwards, Nikola (Nickola), a member of the branch, took my talk, corrected the mistakes, and gave it back w/ and F+ written on the bottom! Haha, it was so funny man. If only you knew good old nikola. Hes not a mean guy, just funny. Hes like 65 or something and he schools me in chess every sunday.

We also have this guy in our branch who is just a 'friend of the church'. He is like 65 too, and used to be a normal successful pediatrician and musician from what i hear. But something happened to his family in the war i guess, and something went out in his mind. He sort of lost it mentally. You can talk to him normally and stuff but he will talk to himself sometimes, i guess, and stuff. But thats sort of beside the point. Ever since they extended the responsibility for him to play the piano at church,he has come everyweek. He remixes the hymns, changing tempos and playing the chords one note after another, ya know. Like the trill thing? its tight.

gtg, peace!

Room 417 has become my home

Ryan's stay at the MTC is in its final stages.  It sounds like he had developed a real fondness for the MTC, but the end of September, he will be in Croatia, having new experiences, living in a new place, and extending his trademarked love of everyone with the good folks in Croatia. We share his excitement as he eagerly await that day.

Eric gave Ryan an English "Elder Dixon" name tag to wear on his flight to Utah when he departed.  I'm sure that English version has been replaced by a Croatian one by now.




Excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Hey fam,

How goes it??  So time is flying @ the mtc.  I can't believe its almost time to go to croatia.  Oddly enough,the mtc has become a home away from home.  I won't necessarily be as emotional when i leave the mtc as I was @ sky harbor, but the room 417 has become my home.

A week ago today,  Elder Uchtdorf came and talked to us....  he gave a CHOICE message.  He is Prophet, seer and revelator.  THe things that effected me the most were the words he said about prayer and sacrifice.. Ill paraphraze-ish...  He saidsomething like this ( or maybe this is just more of what i heard), 'Before you go to bed @ night, give a report to the Lord of what service you gave that day.  Put the sacrifices of the day on the alter, and ask the Lord to accept your sacrifice.  Ask for forgiveness for what shortcomings you had.  I promise that you will feel the love of the Lord as you sincerely seek forgiveness and repent with real intent.  THen, after you have offered your sacrifices before the Lord and asked him to be accepting of them and felt the love of the Lord, forget about those short comings.  Forget them.  Let your sleep be restful and rejuvinating.  THen wake up, and do your best the next day.'  I loved that message.  It helps remember who I serve and the reliance I have on the Lord.  I ought to offer all the sacrifice i can- time, energy, talents, strength, my selfish desires, etc - and concecrate it to the Lord, and try to do that better and better every day.  The Lord will make up for my shortcomings as i do my best.  He will do that for all of us.  It reminded me of that quote or saying or whatever that says, "Work like it all depends on you, but pray like in all depends on the Lord".  THat was such a good message, and it reafirmed to me the importance of hard work, the reality of a Living Prophet, and the importance of keeping the Holy Ghost as a constant companion.

Also, i have had thoughts floating in my head this week about how blessed i am to have the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in my life.  I think about what Nephi said, "My soul delighteth in the things of the Lord". THe gospel and faith in Jesus Christ brings peace to me that can come from no where else.  I've got some precious treasure...   As we talk about these things at the mtc, and as we talk to people at the R.C. it's apparent that we are out-of-control blessed.  It really makes me want to share.  THat will be so great to share that with the Croatians.

So, Holly dropped me a line and told me Willard may be up for grabs.  I'm not going to lie, the other day, i wrote tanner jones and told him that if he was looking for a sweet 98 prizm, my rents might be able to help him out.

GTG

Artistic Elder Dixon

Ryan is having a great time at the MTC and is getting excited to fly to Croatia in three weeks. Because we haven't received any photos from him yet, we pulled a couple of his artistic sketches out of the archives. He drew this first photo with regular crayons. Imagine that! I have to struggle to color between the lines in a coloring book!

Just another of his signature doodles!

Here are some excerpts from his latest email:

Dearest fam,

How are y'all? I'm doing just dandy here @ the mtc. Learning alot of tight stuff about life and the gospel slash croatian. THanks for the sickening package. I love packages!! pure joy!

BTW, im sending pictures via cd sometime soon. I am going to take a bunch and send them home. THere are some sweet audio visual tours as well.......

Welp, i didn't have time to tell last week, but we got released as zone leaders last week. It was the rubber chicken... Jk!! Our time was up after 4.5 weeks. We also got a new branch pres. Bres. Bancroft and his wife are going on a mission to South Korea about the same time i leave, so they got released. Pres. Rolfe, our new president, is the man. Another major change that went down @ the half way mark was the highly anticipated switching of the bunks. In other words, life is good @ the mtc. The bottom bunk status pretty much changed my life. I love it.

This last week, we taught lesson 1 in croatian twice. It was great. We definately have some work to do times infinity, but we are getting the message accross. We can testify, teach, and invite the spirit, which is what really matters... But we've got a long way to go. It was weird though, last sunday, I was asked to give the prayer in district meeting. So I got up to say it and almost said "Nash dragi nebeski oche" which is "our dear heavenly father", but then i caught myself and offered the prayer and finished. But while i was offering it, i realized that i have'nt given a full out English prayer for a long time, at least 2-3 weeks, idk. But, its cool that its wierd to pray in english. Also, my spanish is starting to fade, which is a good sign. I often speak the spanish in my mind on accident, but that's starting to be replaced by croation. Which is nice... :) Croatian is so rad!

THis past week, Elder Cook came and taught us in a devotional. His thoughts were focused on preach my gospel and how it came to be. That book is inspired of God. THe old 1st presidency had alot to do with the topics that were focused on in it. As i study it, it is very evident that it is written to help people come unto Christ, and to bring about the "immortality and eternal life of man". I love it.

One of my favorite things about the mtc is the referral center. We go there and answer phone calls for people who have seen an LDS commercial or see some advertisement who are interested in recieving some type of church literature/media. I was talking to a sweet catholic lady, who had called in for a Bible. The prompt encourages you to ask them what promted them to call for the literature, so I asked her, and she said she lost her old bible that she had had for a while, and she saw a commercial w/ a number and jumped on it. We talked for a little while, and she agreed to have the missionaries drop the bible off and share a message with her about Christ, rather than have us mail it to her. We got talking a little more, and she said that she had been "searching for the truth" for many years. She said she had always just tried to live by the bible to stay closest to the truth. I replied to her and said, "I want you to know that you've found the truth." I bore a little testimony that I knew Christ's true church was restored to the earth. Then, I told her that the issionaries could teach her more when they visited her. I wish I could be there when that transpired. She was so prepared. How sweet would that be for her to hear the story of Joseph Smith, somebody who also searched for truth and relied n the bible and faith, til it came??? So rad! Tightest woman ever. I know the true gospel is restored on the earth. We can know that by reading the Book of Mormon and praying to know of its' truth. I love you all, keep it real!!

RYan

Halfway through the MTC!

Last Sunday, during our weekend visit to California, we met Emily Hendrickson, who recently returned from serving a mission in Croatia. She loved Croatia and the Croatian people and had a wonderful experience serving there. She was excited to hear that Ryan will soon arrive in Croatia for his mission.

Emily graciously sent us a few photos of Croatia. The following photo is of the first LDS meetinghouse built in Croatia. It is scheduled to be dedicated in October, soon after Ryan arrives. How wonderful to see this significant milestone in the history of the Church in Croatia!

Here are a few excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Hey fam...

So the mtc continues to be tight. We are mor than half way through. Insane in the membrane. I will have pics for you soon. Croatian is coming along. We are progressing. THis thurs, we teach the message of the restoration in croatian. I am nervous... ish... we'll be alright though. I ll most def let you know how that goes.

I am still learning alot while I am here. THese past couple weeks we have been teaching and learning about the plan of salvation. I have thought and studied alot about who I really am & where I came from and why that really matters. The scriptures teach us that God is our loving spirit Father in Heaven and we lived with him before this life. So, we are his spirit children, and always will be. we also have an earthly body. Knowing that has helped me understand our purpose a little better. We are here on this earth to excercize faith and gain experience and to return back home to him... We are spiritual individuals having a mortal experience. God wants us to return to him. THat's why God gives us commandments -- to focus on spiritual things... to have an eternal perspective. We have to take care of our bodies and treat them properly, as God-given gifts, but we must nourish our spirits and have an eternal perspective and faith and use our bodies to do good. To be spiritually minded is life eternal. It's so important that everyone know who they are and where they came from, and where to turn so that they can return to heavenly father.

this week, i was chillin before a devotional and reading about the life of William Wilkinson Dixon [Ryan's great-great-great grandfather]. He is the man. I want to be just like him. With an orchard and all... I learned something important from what i read in that document. I noticed that they mentioned his membership in the Mormon church, but never really mentioned his testimony or conversion story. Only alittle at the end. But, even though little was said, I new he had a testimony of the Savior and his Restored gospel on earth today by his actions. THere was no question in my mind. He was dedicated to the church and his family and endured to the end. He is the man. I can't wait to meet the man. WHat a stud.com

Well, I love you all, K? k.

love ryan

Still Missing the Boy

We are thrilled that Ryan is on his mission and are confident that he is in the Lord's hands. But we still miss him. Holly mentioned at dinner tonight that she saw his car when she got home from school and for a moment thought he would be there to meet her.

In her head she knew he wasn't here, but in her heart ????

These photos are special because they capture a bit of the precious feelings we have for Elder Dixon.

Excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Hey fam,

Thanks for the dope package. We all loved it. the rubber chicken may have been the best part. Haha where did you get that one. Actually, where did we get the other one?? Trade show?? Haha my b. president came in and saw me open it and was all, "now is your family sending you stuff that i'm going to have to have you send home". I explained my fam is just tight and funny and it was all good. That was tight.

So, the mtc is tight. The more i get to know my companion, the more I realize he is a remix of spencer campbell. They are different in so many ways, but sometimes their manerisms are out of control similar, separated-at-birth style. It just makes him even easier to love... ha. There are some other look alikes. Sister Bott - a wife of a man (who teaches m prep and d&c at byu) who is in our branch pres., is Grandma Dent #2. Not that she even approaches how tight and perfect grandma is, but she reminds me so much of her, looks and personality alike. It's tight, she's a little bite of dent here at the mtc. Also steve redd number too. Picture steve like 2 ft taller w/ dark hair, and that is elder smith. He just left. He is a stud.com.

THe devotionals continue to be so tight at the mtc. Elder Dallin H. Oaks stopped by and gave a life-changing talk on the sacrament and how that tied w/ having the holy ghost as a constant companion and teaching by the spirit. That man is an apostle of the Lord. I know that. He set the perfect example of teaching by the spirit. He said in the beginning that this was a subject that "weighed heavily" on his mind for the past year or so. As we discussed after as a district, Bro Vernon (branch presidency) said that that must have been what the savior wanted us to hear. As we shared our thoughts about what we had heard and shared our testimonies, it was apparent that each of us had had an answer to prayer or at least the settling of a worry. THat's because the Spirit was there. WHen the Holy Ghost is present, Heavenly Father and the Savior can let us know individually what they want us to know. Not only was that message what we needed to hear collectively, but individually as well. THrough faith, repentenc, baptism, and then partaking prepared and ready of the sacrament, we can be cleansed of all our mistakes and sins regularly and live clean lives. THen we can have the Spirit as a constant companion. One thing i remember and was touched by was that he invoked the blessings of the President and Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, on us missionaries. THen he closed and left the room. WHen he left, I didn't feel the spirit leave, or feel it any less than when he was in the room. I still felt good, happy, peaceful, calm, etc. WHen someone carries the spirit with them and share a testimony through/ w/ that spirit, the other person is left feeling better. I want to leave everyone I meet better than when I saw them first.

Welp, I love you guys. Have a good day!

love
E dix

We are Following the Spirit

Ryan is having a wonderful time in the MTC. The following photo captures the essence of why Ryan will be a good missionary - taking the time to read to his nephews before he left to walk down the concourse to his flight. I think that is called "serving the one."

Some excerpts from Ryan's last email ...

Dobar Dan moj obitelj!

aka good day my family! What is up! How is everybody? It seems like AZ slash colorado slash everywhere else is doing pretty good.

I keep learning all kinds of stuff. This past sunday @ our devotional Pres Breinholt from the MTC presidency and his wife gave the devotional about music focused on hymns. He began by talking about the importance of hymns and the blessings that can come from hymns. I realized that it had gone unnoticed what an important roll hymns have played in my testimony slash overall happiness. He referred us to the 1st presidency address in the front of the hymn book that describes all the blessings that can come from them. It's tight. Then he had like 14-15ish random elders slash sisters come up to a mic and share their fave hymn and why it was their fave and then we all sang one verse of their choice. It was choice... I wasn't anticipating it, but singing hymns with missionaries has become one of my favorite things.

We taught the first lesson in the Teacher Evaluation Center aka TEC this week. Usually, you teach people (usually members) who come as volunteers and act as if they are looking into or investigating the church. THen we would teach them according to their kind-of made up profile. This week, our tight teacher, Sister Harper, decided to change it up. This weeek, she had us teach THAT person, the way they were, LDS or not. We were pretty sure the person we were going to teach was LDS, so we felt a little wierd / nervous about that. Like, how would we teach and LDS person about the restoration and it be like a real lesson? IDK, we thought it would be kind of wierd. But it wasn't. We got in there, and for the first few minutes, just got to know her. It turns out she was LDS, was a student @ BYU, and was a convert to the LDS church when she was a little girl. Her family joined the church when she was 6 and she got baptised when she was 8. When we knew who she was, we taught her principles from lesson 1 based on HER needs. We found ourselves not following the strict outline we had practiced in our study time. We asked her questions, heard her testimony, shared our testimonies, and we ALL learned and were better slash more fortified in our testimonies after we were done. We hadn't wandered aimlessly with what we taught. We are following the Spirit. It was Preach my Gospel style. It was sweet. It was the best lesson. I learned that ALL of us, whether members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or not, are on a spiritual journey back to our loving, living Heavenly father. We can all benefit from the message of the Restored Gospel and the testimonies anytime, anywhere. The church is a huge support system, not just a gathering of perfect people. It's far far from that actually. I know that this church is true and it was restored by the power of God through a humble servant and prophet Joseph Smith. Because of that truth, there are Prophets, or God's chosen servants and leaders, who know the will of God for men, so that they can guide us back to him and have peace/joy in this life. THe Book of Mormon is convincing evidence of those truths. It's a wonderfully importent message, eh?!

Doing Great in the MTC

We are thrilled to hear about Ryan's attitude and progress at the MTC. He sounds like he is learning much, having wonderful spiritual experiences and having an all around good time.

Then night before he left for Utah, Ryan was set apart by Clint Smith, President of the Mesa Arizona Kimball stake. The following photo was taken in the high council room just after that ordinance.

A few exerpts from Ryan's email this week:

Dear Fam!!!

How are you all doing.com? Man, it is so good to here from you guys. I had six letters in my inbox today... That's right... six. I am going to go rub that in Elder Champion's face in a minute. Jk, but mail is tight, and I love it. Thanks for all the letters and all the love...

Things are going so well in the MTC. Every day is the best day of my life. I'm learning a lot slash I have tight roomates slash croatian is so rad slash the weather is great. Some of my favorite things ever are the sunday night firesides and the tuesday night devotionals. Last week, James A. Paramour formerly from the 70 came to talk to us. He is the man. He talked about the prophets and how they lived there lives. He said pres kimball would get to work early everyday, and spend the entire day til late blessing and helping people's life. He talked about pres. Benson and his love for the BOM. He said he used to get some kind of committees and send out hundreds of Book of Mormons with their sincere testimonies inside. J. Paramour had sent hundreds over the years. More than 50 people he sent those to were baptised. Isn't that tight! Should we not be involved in so great a cause?? So great, eh?? He was the man.

My fave mtg. this week was by some guy who has worked w/ the mtc for like 30 years, Bro. Heaton??? He was so good. He talked about how the Joseph Smith story is a metaphore or prototype or model for personal conversion for investigators and ourselves.

The scriptures are full of the direction to recieve answers from God through the Holy Ghost. Check out 1st Nephi and relate Lehi's experiences to your own personal conversion. He prays, and is filled w/ the Holy Ghost... He recieves a book, and is filled with the spirit... He shares what he learns from God... He is persecuted for sharing... BUT God extends his tender mercies to those who are chosen and are faithful. We are all chosen to be here on the earth right now... As we pray sincerely and ponder about the BOM and what the Prophets tell us, act on upon what we learn, share it with others and are faithful and endure, God will extend tender mercies, take care of us, and we will become acquainted with him... Basically, that meeting was tight and the scrips are filled with cool slash essential stuff like that.

I've been playing alot of soccer lately. My roomates are pro, so ill go play w/ them. We are working on a way to get the MTC represented in the fifa world cup...

I love you! Keep it real!

Welcome to the Croatian Chronicle!

On July 30, 2008, Ryan entered the Provo Missionary Training Center for an eight-week period of instruction prior to flying to Croatia to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the wonderful Croatian people. We will use this blog to chronicle his progress and keep family and friends updated on his missionary experiences.

Today we received the first email from him since he entered the MTC. Here are a few excerpts from his email:

Man, Idk where to start. The MTC is sweetness. ... I love the meetings and devotionals like its no body's business. Our MTC president is the man. I swear he will be an apostle someday. They take good care of us spiritually! The spirit is so constant overall in this place that it is almost hard to detect after a while.

My district is made up of kids going to either slovenia, croatia, czeck republic, or slavakia. My zone has some elders heading for the US and this week some are coming in and going to Canada - the city my comp is from.... That's kind of sweet , eh?

On sunday, Elder Champion and I got called to be zone leaders. Pretty nuts, huh? Before my Branch pres. asked us to accept the calling he was all, "Elder Dixon, your pockets..." I was like bent over slouching with my hands in my pockets, so I took my hands out of my pockets and stood up straighter. Then he asked if we would be zone leaders, and the rest is history... Haha jk, but it's cool.

So sunday @ the mtc might have been the greatest day ever.... I loved our Mission Conference. I swear, there is nothing better than singing the Spirit of God, Did you think to Pray, and I'm trying to be like Jesus, with 2000 missionaries. I will never forget that choice experience...

love

ryan

We invite you to come back often to share in the wonderful blessings that will come because of his faithful service.