Croatian Chronicle

Merry Christmas in Croatia

2009-12-26T03:12:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful hour of telephone conversation with Elder Dixon yesterday on Christmas day. It was 7:30pm in Zagreb; 11:30am in Mesa. Elder Dixon was using an LDS chapel family history center computer. We established a four-way Skype conference call, connecting Ryan with Heidi and her family in Colorado, David and his family in Mesa, and the rest of us at our home. What a blessing to have this technology that allowed all our family to be together in this big conversation!

Ryan and his companion, who has been in Croatia about six months, are serving as zone leaders over the one zone in Croatia, which has a total of 32 missionaries, including elders, sisters and senior couples. They regularly drive to visit seven different cities spread across Croatia where the missionaries are located. Ryan lives in Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia, which has one branch of the church and the one free-standing church building in Croatia.

Ryan loves the Croatian people and his missionary work. He really sounds great. He said that he has been really blessed to never have a bad companion. We think that might have something to do with him being a great companion himself.

The following photo shows Elder Brady Mason (Ryan’s previous companion) and Elder Dixon with a prop they made for a zone leader training session.

I really apologize for not posting to this blog more frequently. Here are some excerpts from recent emails:

October 17th

Welp, I love being a Zone Leader in the Slovenia-Croatia mission. I have the greatest companion. His name's Elder Mason. The man is so great. I told President it's like a high school basketball player playing along side Michael Jordan. I've always looked up to Elder Mason and now the brother is my companion. I'm loving it.

Zagreb is huge. Pula was pretty small (60 – 70 thousand peeps) and was kind of slow paced. Zagreb has about a million people and is busy and bustling. I love it hear. We drive a car hear. I little Opel hatchback. I don't know how to spell anymore I'm sorry.

We spent nearly the entire first two days in the car, dealing with transfers and all kinds of red tape. We are so busy. What's great though is that we are in more teaching situations than any other time in my mission. There are so many people in Zagreb so close to baptism. So many potential priesthood holders. We met with somebody last night that is literally GOLDEN. He loves the doctrine that we can be holders of the priesthood and still have a wife and kids. When I familiarize myself with all these people better by next week, I'll fill you in a little better. Zagreb's on fire though. It's going to be such a great transfer.

There are really dedicated missionaries serving in this district. The missionary I trained two transfers ago, Elder Anderson, is training in Zagreb. There's also a set of sisters and a senior couple in our district.

It's cold over here. I'm not looking forward to another winter folks. The cold in Osijek was enough for a lifetime by me. I really think it will be freezing cold in Hades. I will probably be in a car instead of walking, so that's a plus.

The new missionary and I bore our testimonies at church on Sunday. They asked me to share about myself, specifically to share the names of my brothers and sisters. Families are pretty small here, so it's surprizing for them to hear 5 bros and sisters. I was like ''I have 5 brothers and sisters. There names are Holly, Eric, Angie, David, and Heidi. I realized I had just said quite a few names, so at the end I just threw in a ''i tako dalje'' which means et cetera at the end.

They all laughed cause there's so many of us. There's an elder that just came in who has 12 bros and sisters. I bet Croats flip when they hear that.

Welp, I wish I could say more, but I better bounce. You guys take care. Peace out.

November 2nd

Another extremely busy week has passed. We had Zone Conference and Zone Leader Council last week. The latter meeting is where all the Zone Leaders in the mission, the Assistants, and President and Sister Hill gather and discuss the mission and stuff. It was a great meeting. Elder Wondra, who is an area 70 from Austria was there. I really enjoyed learning from him. Something I was reminded was that faith, when exercized, can make important things happen.

We have been busy traveling between areas, teaching, and different activities. Today, we are going to a coastal city called Zadar -- where Kresimir Cosic was from -- for P-day, and I am staying for an exchange with one of the Elders down there. I'll be there all tuesday. Then, on Wednesday we will be back in Zagreb. On Thursday and Friday, we have another exchange with the Elders in Osijek. Then we come back to Zagreb. Our schedule is way busy. It's really nice, but I'm kind of experiencing the growing pains of coming from Pula, a small town with few responsibilities to Zagreb, the biggest city in Croatia as a Zone Leader with the whole country under our stewardship. But, whether I like it or not, I've been called to this position, and it's where the Lord wants me to be. So, I will work at it.

November 9th

Man, it has been a busy, busy week. Elder Mason and I went on two 24 hour exchanges -- one with the Elders in Zadar and one with the Elders in Osijek. Elder Mason spent at least 26 hours in the car this past week. Haha, it's out of control. That's one thing I love about being a Zone Leader. We are so busy. It's draining, but the diverse schedule is really nice.

We are teaching some great people right now. One investigator is doing really good. He's started coming to church without our inviting him. He's liking it a lot. We've been talking to him about baptism. He said he will get baptized when he finds out for himself that Joseph Smith was a prophet, but that he needs time. We are also working with a 26 year old girl. She is great. She is an English student. We teach her spiritual thoughts, and while Elder Mason was on an exchange with an Elder from Zadar, she started asking them why they came on missions and what motivated them to do what they do. They bore their testimonies and talked a lot about the peace that comes from the Gospel. She asked if she would be able to feel the same peace, and they obviously said yes and explained more. By the end of the meeting, she decided that she wanted to meet with us everyday to learn about this. So, we do! We do about half English class, half Gospel. Today, she had questions about baptism, so we talked about that. She said she would be willing to be baptized but just needs to learn more, which she does. She's doing really good.

District Conference is coming up, aka Croatian Stake Conference, where president Hill is going to meet. I'm going to be able to see Miro [from Pula] and my buddies from all over Croatia. I can't wait.

I was talking to Elder Babcock on my exchange with him in Osijek. We came out in the same MTC group, so whenever we meet up, we always seem to have kind of a contemplative conversation about the mission. We talked for a long time about how our missions have blessed us. I have been given so much on my mission. I haven't baptized a soul, but I wouldn't miss out on this mission for the world. The mission has just been a medium through which the Lord could bless me more. I'm truly thankful for what I've experienced.

Elder Mason just barely told me that I need to immediately learn how to drive stick. It's an order from the higher-ups in Ljubljana. So next week, I will be able to drive a manual car. Laterrrrrr...

November 16th

Our investigators are doing well. We just had District Conference in Zagreb for all of the Croatians and we had 4 investigators there. We are starting to work with an English student. He's in his twenties and comes to all the church meetings including sacrament meeting. It's really cool. Our investigator -- idk if i've told you about her -- is now in Germany for about 10 days, but she is thinking about baptism right now. She actually has a lot to learn still, but she has a lot of good feelings at the church and when she learns with us. We used to teach mostly english and like 15 minute lessons. Now she prefers that we only teach a few minutes of English and the rest about the Gospel.

Our African investigator, loves church. He is struggling with the idea of the Godhead but has such a strong desire to understand what is true concerning the nature of the Godhead. He doesn't speak perfect English or Croatian, so we have experienced minor language barriers which make it hard sometimes. He speaks French and reads the scriptures in French. He has a friend in Paris that is going to hook him up with all the French liturature from the chruch there.

District conference was yesterday. I got to see Miro. That was great. He's still doing good. Yesterday, they made huge changes in District Leadership. Actually, They released everybody with district callings. Thats like wiping out everybody with stake callings, including the high counsil, etc. Then they called Elder Thompson, the husband in a senior couple in Zagreb, to be the District President. And they didn't call anybody else for a district calling. I guess they will later on. I think it will be a really positive change. Leadership in this country is just so unexperienced. It will be a fresh start, and President Thompson has his fair share of leadership training. He was a Bishop at 26, a convert at 19! Laterrrrrrr...

November 23rd

The other day, I met an angel! Not really, but... really. I was on an exchange in Zagreb with another Elder who serves in a city about 30 minutes from here. There was a member, who I hadn't remembered meeting before, who needed us to bring her groceries because her elevator is broken in her apartment. Because of her health, she couldn't make it up and down 10 flights of stairs to get to her apartment. So, the relief society president got a hold of us, and arranged for us to drive over there with about a month's worth of groceries.

After driving stick shift through through and getting lost in Hades (aka the center of Zagreb) with and new missionary that knows the city of Zagreb worse than I do as a navigator, we finally made it there. That was one of the most nerve racking experiences of my life. But it was worth all the blood, sweat, tears, and stalls in the road, because we met Gordana, the member, who upon seeing I realized I had met at the church before.

We packed the four garbage bags of groceries up to the last door on the fifth floor, and she was so happy to see us. She let us in. I've never seen such a small apartment in my life. I was probably half the size of the room in our house downstairs. The little bathroom was separate, but any other empty space was filled with a bed, some tiny kitchen appliances, a small table and desk, and just enough space to walk in front of each of those things. But it was so neat and in order. On a shelf mounted on the wall, there were pictures of her daughter, members of the Zagreb branch, and other family.

She had lots of books, many of which were church related books. She had us sit down on her bed, and she asked if she could make us some eggs. We told her we didn't have a lot of time, but we asked if we could share something with her from the scriptures. We shared some scriptures from the Book of Mormon, and said a little bit about them. Then, I asked her if she would share her conversion story with us. Without hesitation she went into it all.

She is from Sarajevo, Bosnia, where she experienced a lot of negative things as a result of the war. I don't really have time to tell her whole story, but it was one of the most touching conversion stories I have ever heard. Her testimony is heavily rooted in the fact that she can be with her loved ones forever. Something that really touched me was she always referred to her missonaries as her "dragi ucitelji", or "dear teachers", and very seldomly as missionaries. She revered those two missionaries as her dearest teachers more than anything else. They were literally the teachers or instructers that helped her understand for herself how to find peace, hope, and salvation. It made it clear what we really are as missionaries.

Another thing that was amazing about her was the things she had in her apartment. Like I said, she had very little, but what she did have taught me a lot. With virtually no space in her home, the few possessions she had showed who she was. On her shelf were the pictures of her family, friends, and all her church books. On the table next to me were her scriptures, marked and worn. On her doors hung her few dresses that she had. One of the dresses was hanging in a protective bag, and that was her temple dress. On the table, there was also a couple large binders that were full of 400 names of ancestors she has planned on doing or has already done temple work for. She is in angel, man. When we left, I was so uplifted and happy. I don't know if I have ever felt the converting Spirit stronger from the words of another person. I felt like I understood what it might have felt like for Joseph Smith to have spoken with the Angel Moroni. So cool... I love the members here. They are so faithful and all because they know it's true.

One of the people with baptismal dates in Zagreb is a 26 year old guy. I hooked him up with one of my suits, because he felt like he needed one if he was going to be a member. He speaks a little English, and he told the Sisters, "All the brethren have suits. I should have one too." Haha, brethren...

Welp, I better go. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Keep it real.

November 30th

Hello mother of Elder Dixon aka Claud hoppers! haha

This is Elder Anderson. Elder Dixon today had written you a wonderful email and as he was about to send it the computer went freaky and shut down or something along those lines. Non the less his letter was not sent and he was not able to send you a letter today. He is very busy as a Zones Leader and I told him i would take some time to write you adn let you know you have an AMAZING son. Not only was he my trainer but now i am lucky enough to have him as a Zone leader. He is amazing and definitely someone who not only me but the whole mission looks up to and a great example for us. He is such a great person in general! Sorry you were not able to hear from him this week and you had to hear from me.. yuck! haha

Hope you are all doing fine adn your son is doing good as far as i can see. I dont think he is having mental breakdowns or anything so.. you will hear from him next week tho :) take care

Elder Anderson

December 7th

It's been a great, busy week. And this week will be even greater and busier. We have two exchanges with missionaries from two of the farthest away cities (aka me driving driving cross-country Croat style), our Christmas Zone Conference, Elder Mason has to pack since he bounces in a week from today, and there's going to be a baptizm on Saturday for Toni, the guy I hooked up with a suit. I was asked this week if I would baptize him. So this Saturday, I will be getting into the water with a convert! I'm excited. I've never taught him or anything, I just see him at church and hear about him a lot. It will be great to be a part of his conversion in that way. I'm stoked!

I got to go to Pula on an exchange this week. Man, I love that place. It was so great to sit and talk with Miro, contact people, teach in the church, see the familiar sights, and smell the familiar smells. I saw a few people on the streets that I knew in the short time we were there. It was great. I was with my last companion, so it seemed just normal. I didn't want to go back to Zagreb! Not that I don't love it here. Pula just has 6 months of love on Zagreb.

Last week we had a Zone Leader workshop -- Elder Mason and I -- that went so well. I wish I had more time to tell you about it. We used that big box with the picture of the missionary on it. While we were introducing the workshop, we asked the missionaries to list attributes of a great missionary, which we wrote on the box. When we said the right words, Elder Brown, who was hidden in there (which almost nobody knew about, including President and the assistants) busted through the box, and said "Thanks guys for all the compliments!"

We pointed out the fact that while all the missionaries had been listing the attributes of a spiritual giant and a great missionary, they were really just saying all those things directly to Elder Brown. Simply because that's the way they saw him. We related that to how God sees us. He sees our full potential, and knows our eternal selves. He doesn't see exactly what we see in ourselves when we look in the mirror.

We shared the quote from Joseph B. Worthlin, "Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us�even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will. We [might] see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. . . . The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities.”

We then talked more about our potential and what we need to do to reach it. We ended with that money quote from Nelson Mandella that I shared at Bachalaureate way back. I have no idea how to spell that word, btw. Anyway, it went so well. I'll tell you more about it in 8 months.

December 14th

Welp, it has been a very eventfull week. Elder Mason and my trainer, Elder Giberson, left for the mission home on the way to America this morning... Single tear... They are great men. I'll miss them both a lot.

That makes my two MTC companions and me the oldest missionaries in Croatia for the next 8 months. That's kind of an overwhelming thought for me, but I am getting a great companion, so that helps a lot. His name is Elder Matson from Ogden, Utah. He has been out as long as Elder Anderson, the missionary I trained, aka 6 months. So he's pretty young. That still doesn't beat one of the Elders in Serbia, who was made Zone leader at 2 months in the mission. We have a really young mission!

Elder Matson is a great missionary.That reminds me of something crazy that happened this week. So, we had Zone Conference this week. Since it was the Christmas Zone Conference, the Serbian Elders came over to celebrate with us. There are six of them. And I hadn't met any of them. Anyway, Elder Mason and I went and picked them up at the train station, and I got talking to one of the missionaries, Elder Porter. He asked me where I was from, and I said Mesa, Arizona. He then said that his family had lived there for 8 years at one point, and then he asked me if I knew the Clouses. I thought, "Well, there are a lot of Clouses", but I asked him which ones. Then he said "Curtis". I said of course I know the Clouses! Chelsea cut my hair every month! Then I just explained how well our family knows their family and stuff. Apparantly his family is good friends with the Clouses, and they have Thanksgiving together every year or something. It was the most small world experience. We were standing in front of a train station in Zagreb, Croatia, where we met for the first time, but both were friends with the exact same people. Only on a mission...

I got to baptize a convert on Saturday. That was great. It felt good to step in the water of the baptismal font with somebody dressed in white who was prepared to be baptized. We had to do it twice though... I forgot to say his name before saying the prayer the first time! He was completely emersed, and I was stoked, because I wouldn't have to do it twice. But, I was completely oblivious to the fact that I didn't even say his name. So... we did it again, and it was alright. His testimony afterwards was really great. He talked about how he gained a testimony through quiet peace rather than a magnificent sign. He had it all written out. And he was rocking my JC Penney suit... It was so good. It was a pleasure to be a part of his conversion in that small way.

It's snowing in Zagreb. A lot. So, now that I know how to drive stick, the next step is to learn how to do it in the snow. Elder Matson will be able to show me the ropes.

Well, I will miss my man, Elder Mason. He has been a great companion. Offer up a moment of silence for him and Elder Giberson if you ever get the chance... They have both had a very large impact on my mission and who I am. Remember to ask the Lord to bless them in your prayers for what they've done for me. They are real men.

December 21st

It has been a very busy week. Transfers were nuts since we are the Zone Leaders for the whole country. Most of what goes on in the country is on my head and my companion's head, so it's pretty crazy some times. We've spent a lot time in the car. Driving in the snow is not my favorite pass time. I'm excited to be out working more and doing less of the transfer business.

Our investigators are doing well. A member here whose native language is French is going to be going on lessons with us to teach our African investigator, so that he can understand better. That will help SO much and will really help him progress much faster towards baptism. He's been having a hard time understanding the Plan of Salvation because of the language barrier.

We had Zone Leader Council at the mission home in Ljubljana this last week. There were 6 Zone Leaders 2 Assistants and President Hill. That was a great meeting. I was thinking how rare a chance it was to be in a room with such wonderful men. I really felt I was sitting among greatness. Our conversation was so obviously directed towards the needs of our mission. I really love those meetings. President Hill is so inspired. But the great thing is it's not just him. Each of the Zone Leaders and Assistants have been taught and inspired by the Holy Ghost according to the needs of those they have stewardship over. It was just so evident that that was true as we discussed our mission for those few hours at the mission home.

Well, brothers and sisters, I better get going. I hope you all make it a great day. Take care and have a very merry Christmas. Don't forget to leave water out for my boy, Rudolf.

Love you lots!

S Ljubavlju,

Elder Dixon

Leaving Pula?

2009-10-11T13:09:00.001-07:00

This may be Ryan’s last week in Pula. He is expecting a transfer to a different location this week. However, he’d love to stay right where he is at. He has grown to really love the place and the people he works with. I’m sure that he will treasure the memories of Pula forever.

The photo below was sent to us by Sister Hill, the wife of Ryan’s mission president. We think it was taken at the mission headquarters in Slovenia, where the missionaries gathered for a zone conference. Ryan’s head is visible just above the girl in the green blouse.

Ryan has learned to cook some great food, including banana bread. Here is a photo of his first loaf!

A few excerpts from recent emails are included below:

September 14

Well, it's been a great week here. It's rediculous. I pray almost every day to love people here and have greater love for those I already do love. But then, when I feel my love for them really strongly, it border-line frustrates me, because I know I am going to leave them all sooner or later. It's a paradox of sorts. I guess I should just keep serving them and trying to love them more, because either way it's going to hurt to leave Pula. We're getting 8 new missionaries next transfer, so I am trying to be open to the likely change.

We are still enjoying the fruits of the package... or should I say junk-food haha. I rocked another box of sponge bob macoroni and cheese the other day. PUHHHH!

We had a great Sunday yesterday. 14 people at church, folks! 2 visitors from Germany, 4 members, 2 Pula missionaries, 4 missionaries from Rijeka, and 2 investigators. It was so great. For the sake of time, I'll paste what I wrote to President Hill today. This is a pretty cool story.

We had 14 people at church yesterday! Can you believe that? The best was that there were two investigators there. They were two women who were friends. Elder Anderson and I had met one them on the street a few weeks ago. We stopped her, and after saying a few words about the Book of Mormon, she mentioned that she had already met with ''my boss''. Thinking she was probably confused, I asked for a description of the person who was my supposed ''boss''. She proceeded to list some attributes that described Elder Nelson. I asked her if it was him, and she said yes. Haha, that made me laugh. My boss... She then told us she already had a Book of Mormon but not from Elder Nelson. She said she had purchased it at a store. That, too, was hard to believe, but our conversation eventually came to an end, because she wasn't interested; and we went our separate ways. She saw Elder Anderson and I in old-town Pula a few weeks later and stopped us. She told us she had her Book of Mormon with her! From out of her purse she pulled an old, sky-blue copy of the Book of Mormon with the Angel Moroni on the front. She let us look at it, and we noticed it was in English and that there was a testimony written on the inside of the front cover. As we were reading the words, she clarified what she had said before and told us she had bought the book at a used book store. We looked at the bottom of the page and the testimony was signed ''John Cassinat, Netherlands Amsterdam mission (that's where Amsterdam is right? I remember it was Amsterdam for sure) 1978''. We both immediately thought of our teacher at the MTC, Sister Cassinat. We talked to her for a little bit longer, explained to her a little bit about our curiosity about that book, and actually got her phone number to tell her about it when we found out more. We invited her to church then as well. We e-mailed Sister Cassinet and found out the following week that it was definately her dad that had written his testimony in that copy of the Book of Mormon! We eventually called our investigator to let her know about that with little response on her part. It seemed she still wasn't very interested, and a few more weeks passed. Then, yesterday about fifteen minutes before church started, her and a friend, who we had met when we saw that Book of Mormon for the first time, walked through the doors. I was so happy to see them. With fourteen people there, they got a solid welcome. It was great. It was a wonderful meeting. The sisters from Rijeka spoke as well as President Manley. I don't know if the talks could have been any better. I gave a Sunday School lesson on the Plan of Salvation. It seems like the Lord knew how the meeting was going to be yesterday, full of people, and he planted in their minds that they should come to church. It was great! We have her number, and they are both (especially her friend) interested in taking English Classes from us in two weeks. We're very excited. (End of letter to President).

Welp, I better go. Thanks for the word from back home. It's one of my favorite things to here from yall. Take care. You're in my prayers. Peace out.

Love,

Elder Dixon

September 21

It's been another good week in Pula. Probably one of the last I believe. It's not for sure, but we had interviews with President Hill this week, and it's looking more and more like my time is up in Pula. A ton of new missionaries are coming in this transfer, so President has had to let several cats out of the bag in order to let younger missionaries know they will be training next transfer. Elder Brown, who I am with right now, will most likely be training. Elder Anderson, the Elder I trained just last transfer will also be training. It's looking like I'm getting booted out of my own corner of Croatia for a fresh, new missionary. It will be good, but the thought of leaving is less than appealing to me!

We are getting English classes going again in Pula. We'll see how that goes. We have already recieved a lot of phone calls, so I'm predicting a pretty big turnout. We made 5000 flyers, which is the same amount we made in February when 100 people came to sign up. With the additional students that we already have, it should be a pretty serious turn out. I'm really hoping some prepared souls show up this go around so some more great people can be baptized in Pula.

I've been thinking a lot about temples lately. I taught a Sunday School lesson about the Plan of Salvation, and talked about the things we need to do to return back to God's presence and become like Him. We then talked about how everyone needs those blessings, ordinances, and principles to return to our Heavenly Father. We then talked about temples and the restored authority and keys or rights to seal or bind things on earth that are in turn bound in Heaven. I'm really greatful that our family is bound on earth and in heaven by that power. I'm thankful that we have something - each other - to hold onto after this life. It's also great to know that that's available to everybody! I read something by Gordon B. Hinckley today that explained we don't maintain a standard of worthiness to enter the temple because we want to keep people. Rather, the opposite is true. We want everyone to experience the blessings of the temple, but they need to be prepared to do so. He said this about going to the temple, '' But all of this would appear to be unfair indeed if the blessings of these ordinances were available only to those who are now members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The fact is that the opportunity to come into the temple and partake of its blessings is open to all who will accept the gospel and be baptized into the Church. For this reason, the Church carries forward an extensive missionary program in much of the world and will continue to expand this program as widely as possible, for it has the responsibility, under divine revelation, to teach the gospel to “every nation, kindred, tongue, and people”. That’s one of the great reasons I’m on a mission - to invite people to accept and enjoy the blessings that pour from attending and participating in what’s offered at the temple.

Welp, I love you guys a lot. Thanks for the great e-mails. I better go, but take care.

Lots of love,

Elder Dixon

September 28

Haha, so Elder Brown and I went to Rijeka for district meeting reciently. We are doing that once a month now. On the bus, they usually play music. I recognized one of the songs that was playing, so I listened harder, only to find out it was the song ''Aisha'' from the youtube video! Haha, I laughed. Unfortunately, Elder Brown didn't know what it was. I had no idea that was a real song. This song was a different version, but had the same words and tune and everything. Probably the original. I thought of Eric haha. Remember this part at the beginning? ''Pffffffffffffff...'' Haha.

Man, I love Sunday meetings in Pula, Croatia. Elder Brown and I have invested a lot of effort into preparing talks and lessons for church and also working on the language. It really paid off this Sunday. I talked along with Elder Brown, and I also gave the Sunday school lesson. We had two missionaries, two members, and two visitors there. I gave a talk and based my remarks on two talks, ''My words... Never Cease'' by Jeffrey R. Holland and ''Profile of a Prophet'', the BYU Devotional Dad introduced me to by Hugh B. Brown. I was able to say everything I wanted to say in Croatian and it went so smoothly. In Sunday School my lesson was on Prophets. I was inspired by Hugh B. Brown's talk, and made a more abbreviated ''profile of a prophet''. I list five roles or responsiblities of prophets, and made a chart to see how diferent prophets fulfilled those roles and responsibilities. The 5 points were:

1. They reveal the will of God to mankind and make known His character.
2. They boldly denounce sin and correct wrongs.
3. They are preachers of righteousness.
4. When necessary, they will prophecy of forthtell future events for the benefit and blessing of God's children.
5. They tesify boldly of Jesus Christ and teach his gospel.

I put those five roles and responsibilities on one axis of the chart, and on the other I wrote ''Old Testament Prophets'', ''Jesus Christ'', ''Joseph Smith'', and ''Thomas S. Monson'', and we looked up each of their words from scriptures and conference addresses to see how they each fulfilled their roles as prophets of God. In introducing who Joseph Smith was, I got to explain his experience and what we believe concerning the restoration of the Lord's church to the visitors who were there. The feeling there was calm and powerful as we discussed and read words from these ''teachers come from God''. One of those visitors was a member's sister who is not a member of the Church and is from Subotica, Serbia, a city where there used to be but are no longer missionaries. By the end of church, it was so natural to ask her for her contact information, because it seems virtually anybody from any walk of life would want to learn more about the good news we shared that day. We gave her number to the Zone leaders last night, and the missionaries from a different city in Serbia should be able to contact her in the near future.

Well, I think that's all folks. I better bounce. I hope you all have a great week. Take care. Thanks for the emails. Sorry I cant always reply to everyone. I really appreciate the communication though. You are great. Peace out!

Love,

Elder Dixon

October 5

Welp, last Monday was a great day to say the least. In the afternoon, we went over to a member's house to watch a documentary that was made about the missionaries in Zagreb. Her sister from Serbia was there, the one who had come to church last week. She whispered to me that her sister wanted to be baptized. We had a chance to talk to that sister later, and she confirmed it. We told her we were very happy for her (biggest understatement of all time) and asked her if she had any questions. She asked why we this church is called what it is, because of the ''of latter-day saints'' part. We answered that, then she had other questions that could be answered by the Plan of Salvation. We proceeded to teach her the whole Plan of Salvation. It was a really good meeting. We got additional contact information from her, and the missionaries in Serbia will teach her, hopefully. It's early on, but I feel good about it and I was so happy. I think I could have run a complete marathon on just happiness-energy. So great.

I love Conference. We watched the two morning sessions at Miro's on his computer, in his living room. I loved President Monson's talk during the Sunday Morning session. I felt like God's will for us was well expressed through President Monson. Selfless service is really central in our religion. I thought the last verse in James 1 after watching that session of conference. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." I love the simple fact that these messengers, servants, and teachers we just heard from are prophets called of God are on the earth.

I love Pula. President Hill told me in my first interview that he had to tear people away from their areas at transfers. That's the truth. That's how it was with Osijek, and that's how it will be again if I leave Pula. Even more so. I'm tempted to say, "I'll kill somebody if I leave Pula," haha, but that's probably not true. I don't want to leave, but I will go wherever... We'll probably find out by next Monday. Just cross your fingers that I’ll stay here one more transfer. K? K.

Welp, we'll see you later. Take care!

Love,

Elder Dixon

Serving and Teaching in Pula

2009-09-07T20:04:00.001-07:00

Elder Dixon continues to have great experiences in Pula, Croatia, as he and Elder Brown lead the little flock of seven members of the Church. What an adventure it must be, out on the frontiers of the Church!

We don’t have photos of Elder Brown yet, but you can see from this photo of Elders Anderson and Dixon, that they know how to have a good time!

Here are some excerpts from the last two emails we received …

September 1

I’ve been teaching sunday school a lot. I love it. Last Sunday we talked about faith. I love that principle of the gospel. You can gain greater understanding of it until the day you die, and it makes for a solid Sunday School discussion. I realized towards the end of that lesson what a reverence I have for the Prophet Joseph Smith. We don't worship him. He's not God or a Savior. But he sacrificed so much to enable us to have Heavenly Father's gospel of happiness and salvation. Joseph Smith taught a principle about faith I have never really though of before. When someone asks what the results of faith are, I would answer "miracles, answers to prayers, hope, good actions, etc." Those things are still true, but a quote from him shed some light on other things that faith enables. I read this quote from him in the Gospel Principles book:

"When faith comes it brings apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, gifts, wisdom, knowledge, miracles, healings, tongues, interpretation of tongues, etc. All these appear when faith appears on the earth, and disappear when it disappears from the earth; for these are the effects of faith. And he who possesses it will, through it, obtain all necessary knowledge and wisdom, until he shall know God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he has sent whom to know is eternal life. Amen"

After I read that at church I thought about Joseph's simple faith brought about the fullness of the gospel -- complete with apostles, prophets, etc. I proceeded to share my testimony of the reality of his call as a prophet, and I felt a deeper reverence and appreciation for him than I have felt maybe in my whole life.

So, every Friday, we do service at a Down Syndrome center. We never work with the kids, but do odd jobs around the facility. The past three weeks there have been great. We have had to clear out this space completely overgrown with weeds. Lots of these weeds were taller than me and had trunks pretty much -- the redwoods of weeds with serious root systems. The area was probably 10 feet by 40 feet, and they just sicked us on it to clear it out. I miss that kind of work so bad. It felt so good to do that type of physical work in jeans and a t-shirt... It reminded me of work before I came out. It's the best time in the world to think. Toward the end of our third day I got thinking about repentance. Elder Brown and I had worked really hard on that for our last three visits and we finally got to the back of the area we had to clear out. There was a huge pile of debris we had cut down or uprooted and thrown out. But I was so unsatisfied at the end! We had torn down all the big stuff and pulled up what we could, but the ground was just covered with weeds and infested with roots. We had a couple really old rakes, a dull pick, and a couple shovels. I remember almost completely exausting myself to pull out some roots only to find out there were others growing right next to it and others spread all throughout the 400 square foot area. There was no way we could clear it out or clean it on our own. I thought about our mistakes or sins, big and small, are like weeds, big and small. Inevitably, they come up, because we are human. We all make mistakes. Alone, we can do a lot. We can break bad habits, through a lot of garbage out of our lives, uproot a lot of things that choke us. But, we can't completely remove all of the guilt, break away from the effects of sin, eliminate the distancing from God, or feel the needed forgiveness -- at least on our own. We have to come to Christ in faith by living his gospel. Then Christ, the master gardener, can supply us with the proper tools and actually cleanse us. Our weeds can be removed and roots taken up, and be given a fresh plot of soil. Im so thankful for repentance and the sacrament that gives us an opportunity for a weekly maintenance.

Welp, I love you. Take care. Peace out!

Love,

Elder Dixon

September 7

Welp, it's been a good week in Pula. Yesterday was Fast Sunday, of course, which I enjoy in Croatia. It's always kindof intense presiding over a testimony meeting when you don't know what is going to be preached over the pulpit, but in Pula, it's not too much of a concern. A german couple came to church yesterday. They were just on vacation. It was great to have them come and share their testimonies. It was really good for the German couple who are here for six months. We had Sister Sundermann translate from German to Croatian, and so, for the first time in forever, Brother Sundermann could understand what was being said in Sacrament Meeting. Haha, poor brother, he never understands anything, but he still comes faithfully. Haha. She also bore her testimony in German without translation, since half of the congregation spoke German anyway! It was a good meeting.

By the way, I am now a master chef... Since Elder Brown and I got together, we have made some of the greatest meals... This last week, we made sweet and sour meat balls (not as good as Moms, but delicious nonetheless), enchiladas, and broccoli soup. Probably the 3 best meals of my mish. Thanks to the Slovenia/Croatia cookbook, Elder Brown and I are eating like kings. Actually, the credit goes to Elder Anderson's mom for the S and S meatball recipe. We eat those every Thursday... We also made Banana Bread from a recipe we got from Sister Pettersson. We took a loaf to Miro and Nataia, and they loved it. Cooking is great. I can't say I'm a good cook, but I can follow a recipe like a champ.

We taught an 82 year old the other day. We tracted into her, and taught her the first lesson about the restoration of the gospel. We have a return appointment on Tuesday. We were talking about prophets, and, in looking back on that lesson, I realized I said something so funny. I said something to the effect, "We have a living prophet named Thomas Monson, and he's about your age". At the time it didn't seem so weird, but, looking back it makes me laugh. My companion says that maybe it made her feel good. I hope so. Haha, we'll so how it goes with her. She was so nice.

Welp, I love the mission. I'm learning a lot. I'm working hard. I love you guys. Take care. Keep it real!

Love,

Elder Dixon

Loving Life in Pula

2009-08-30T09:26:00.001-07:00

One of the choice experiences in our recent vacation trip to Utah was meeting Brother and Sister Pettersson, who served as missionaries with Ryan in Pula before recently returning home. What a delight to discuss the work in Croatia and get a better sense of the experience Ryan is having there. The Petterssons are wonderful people who did much good in their service to the great people in Croatia.

Ryan continues to have great experiences in Pula. He recently got a new companion, Elder Brown, who arrived in Croatia about four months ago. Ryan is serving as first counselor in the Rijeka branch presidency and leader of the Pula group, which is technically a part of the Rijeka branch, although Rijeka is located about 100 km away. Ryan is to focus on leading the group in Pula and training the one priesthood holder in Pula to be a leader in the Church. What an awesome opportunity and challenge!

Ryan and his companion also continue to do a lot of contacting work and teaching a few investigators … planting seeds that will undoubtedly mature and grow as the work in Croatia moves forward.

Here are a few excerpts from Ryan’s recent emails:

July 13

Elder Anderson and I have seen some pretty hilarious stuff this week. There are some great moments on the mission, haha. I’m kind of debating weather or not to share the following story, but I think I’m going to go for it. Feel free to edit it before you send it to the whole world, haha. Just try not to throw up when you read this one. So, in Pula there is this one guy who walks around town who, mentally, is not all there. But, he’s a nice guy and doesn’t cause any trouble. But he just walks around town and greets people very loudly. Sometimes he’ll just walk into the library we are in right now and yell, “Zdravo!” which just means hello. So, we call him Zdravo, because we don’t know his name. He’s a funny guy and everyone knows who he is. The Mesa equivalent would probably be that guy they call Dizzy on Main Street. As a side note, he’s a big guy, probably like 350 pounds. The other day, Elder Anderson and I were on our way to our apartment for dinner and we saw Zdravo strolling across the street from our apartment about 30 to 50 feet ahead of us. I pointed to him and was like, “Hey, that’s Zdravo.” About 10 seconds later, Zdravo began to do the unexpected - he started pulling down his pants! We were shocked to say the least, and before we knew it, his navy blue shorts were hanging at his knees as he was going #2 in the street! It was very brief - just like ten seconds, and he pulled up his pants without a single wipe, and went on his way. There were about 5 spectators, and the funny thing was that it didn’t seem to faze anybody too bad, haha. Except one guy kind of shook his head and laughed. Haha, I’ll e-mail the picture of the evidence left behind. You’ll see that its not so normal looking. He must have been hurting pretty bad before he let it go! Hahaha, I’m sorry that’s so gross. I don’t think I could have NOT shared that though. Haha. Laterrrrrr!

Steve Redd was in Pula this week. I got a call from him on Saturday morning. He was like “This is your cousin Steve in Pula, Croatia”. I was so surprised. He’s studying in Austria and him and some friends came down for a trip. We tried to arrange to meet up, but it couldn’t happen. He had to leave pretty soon. But we were so close to each other. He said he was going to the Colluseum probably during the time we were at church. Our church is like 100 yards away from the Colluseum. It was nice to here the voice of a blood relative. He’s the man.

Welp, I love the mission. I wonder if I will be able to duplicate the happiness when I get home. Probably not! I’m loving it. Welp, I got to go. Hope you are all doing well. Peace out!

Love,

Elder Dixon

July 20

Welp, once again, this week flew by, and I’m a little frustrated with how fast time is going by. There’s just not enough time! Things are going well here, though. Pula never ceases to be great.

So, the Petterssons are gone, aka 2 less people at church, aka it feels like half the congregation is missing. Not only that, it puts a lot more of the responsibilities on the missionaries. On Sunday, I conducted, passed the Sacrament, directed the music (accompanied by a CD), gave a talk, taught Sunday school, and translated. Haha, ironically, it was one of my favorite Sundays of my whole mission. For the first time on my mission, I didn’t write out every word of my talk in Croatian. I just made an outline with scriptures, main points, quotes, experiences, and testimony and went up and talked. My Croatian wasn’t perfect and the talk wasn’t flawless, but I could just tell the Spirit had a lot more room to do its job - to direct and teach. It was a good experience for me.

After that I taught a Sunday School lesson about missionary work. I love to teach members, especially new ones, the simple truths of the gospel. I was thinking of the good old “Did you know?” books the other day. The ones that were each about a different Bible story. I remember each start out with “Did you know?” followed by some simple, true statement about the Bible story. It would say something like, “Did you know that Jonah was swallowed by a whale?” or “Did you know an angel protected David from lions?” I love having the chance to do that with Miro when talking about missionary work. I can say, “Miro, did you know the gospel is going to fill the whole earth? Did you know that someday everyone will hear the gospel in his own language, just like you did? Did you know that there are people in Pula prepared to hear the gospel, just like you?” I love to talk about and teach these simple truths.

In other news, it has taken me a year, but I am officially sporting a part in my hair. I just figured it was about time. I like it.

I forgot to tell you, but we found 45 potato bugs in one night in our apartment a couple weeks ago. That is pretty unprecedented. Usually we find one or two here and there, but that was a special day I guess. We told our land lady person and she called the bug man. Haha, nasty, huh. I promise the apartment is not nearly as nasty as you are thinking it is right now.

Well, I love you guys. Hope you are doing well. Much love from the Croatian coast. Take care!

S ljubavlju,

Elder Dixon

July 27

The big news of the week was that I have been called to be 1st counselor in the RIJEKA branch presidency. Miro has been called to be the 2nd counselor. I’m staying in Pula though. Pula is a part of the Rijeka Branch technically, so that's why it works out. Miro and I will lead the branch here together. They pretty much gave me 2 main responsibilities: 1. Carry out responsibilities of President slash Elder Manley when he is not present in Pula. (The Manleys are in Rijeka now) 2. Help train Miro to be a leader in the church. I feel like I don't have much more experience leading in the church than Miro, but I've been lucky to grow up in the good old Lyn Rae among some great leaders. Hopefully I can just follow the example of all the greats back at home and Miro and I can work together to help the people in Pula.

Welp, I love you guys. Take care. We'll see you later.

Love,

Elder Dixon

August 3

Welp, July 30 officially marks the one year mark for being on a mission. The only word that I feel can accurately describe how I really feel about that is "laterrrrrrr!". Not really, nevertheless i CANNOT believe that it has been one year. That is out of control. There is absolutely no time.

I wanted to be funny and give you a full physical status update � as far as how tall I am, how much I weigh and stuff, but we don�t really have the resources. I�m pretty much the same though, so it doesn�t really matter. Still about 6 feet tall, probably a tiny bit heavier. My Walt Disney pencil stache is growing in thicker and thicker everyday it seems, but still only minor signs of growth on the side of my face. Acne is still a part of my life. I currently am sporting an underground zit near my chin that is about the same size as and feels about as good as a badly sprained ankle. Anyway, I�m just picturing somebody who is not a member of our family reading this and feel an urgency to stop writing about this right now.

It's been a great week here. We have been doing a lot of tracting and contacting. We keep finding a lot of people and sifting through them, because they fall out of interest. We've met some really great people. We are just working and hoping for the prepared to grasp on. Our "bird investigator" is still meeting with us. I love that guy. I feel really good about him as far as eventually accepting the gospel, too. He hasn't been to church yet, and we're working to help him get to that point. He keeps reading the Book of Mormon. Pray for him! A weird observation is that he actually looks a lot like our brother Eric, Eric Dixon, that is. Picture Eric wearing his glasses, with even darker hair, Italian-tan skin, and a 3 day beard - that is approximately our investigator. He is great.

Miro and I had our first Branch Presidency meeting. It was great. I�m liking being able to work with Miro in this way. We just talked about a few small things like who's going to talk in church and stuff, and then we talked about the welfare of the members in Pula. He asked what our role was in our new callings. I thought about it, and I didn�t have the perfect answer, but the scripture in Mosiah 18 from when Alma is describing to the people the requirements for baptism came to my mind. We read verses 8 and 9 about being willing to mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need to comfort and stand as witnesses of God at all times. As we read about selfless service, I felt like he and I understood our roles as leaders in the church a little bit better. Leadership in the church requires us to take the role of a servant.

Welp, I better go. You are the best. We'll see ya later! Peace out.

Love,

Elder Dixon

August 10

Welp, transfers have gone down once again, and once again the transfer has flone by way too fast. I was fully expecting to stay with Elder Anderson another transfer, but he's going to Zagreb, while I stay in Pula with another companion coming down from a city called Varadin, named Elder Brown. He's been out four months, and he's from somewhere in Utah. The morning of transfer calls, Elder Anderson and I were doing a companionship pondering session on who we thought would go where. Somewhere in our conversation, I said, "I'd like to work with Elder Brown." And then... I got the call that night. Elder Brown is quiet, humble guy. I love people like him, and I can't wait to work with him in Pula. I came to here at four months in the country, so we will be able to relate. This is my third companion in Pula.

Our mission is so incredibly young right now. At the end of this transfer, my group will be the 2nd oldest group of missionaries in the mission. After that next one, we will be the oldest for 8 months before we go home. To add fuel to that fire, 8 new elders are coming in next transfer (that's a lot. my group of 3 is normal size). There will be either 6 or 7 cities open at that time, so pretty much every city will train plus more. I told Elder Anderson he would probably be training at four months in the country. That's kind of nerve racking for anyone to hear, so he said something like, "No, you and Elder Babcock and somebody else are going to train." I said, "You're probably right, and so will you, and so will 4 other people." Haha, it's crazy. New missionaries are going to be training new missionaries. We are very young, it's kind of cool and very intense.

I love what the mission has done for me. It's done so much for me personally. My testimony has been so fortified. I know this is our Father's work. I've learned quite a bit about life. I'm hoping it can do something more for my friends here in Pula. In the meantime, I do feel very blessed to have this experience.

Well, I better go. Hope you all have a good day. Peace out.

Love,

Elder Dixon

August 17

Welp, it seems like I was only with Elder Anderson for a couple weeks, but it was a whole transfer, I guess. That's nuts. Now, I am with Elder Brown. He is from Wellsville, Utah, near Logan. He lived in Brigham for a long time as well. He's sweet. He, like me, came down to Pula with four months in the country under his belt, so I have empathy for the brother. Things are going well. The language just gets better and better. I can say I love this language. It's great.

With transfers and stuff, it was hard to get a lot done this week, but we are looking forward to hitting it hard this week. As far as investigators and members and stuff, it's all pretty much the same. Miro never disappoints and is so strong. I love hearing what he has to say about the gospel. He just gets it.

We had a couple cool experiences with tourists lately. Some people from Holland -- I think it was Holland -- stopped us and asked in English "Are you enjoying your stay?" Haha, we said yes and asked if they were members of the LDS church. They said no, but they had friends that were. We got talking, and after some time the topic of discussion was family history work. The husband asked if the Salt Lake Temple was a place where they stored family records. We explained that the church has some of the biggest family history centers in the world, but they are separate from the temples. But then we went on to explain the purpose of temples, that we believe family relationships can last now and after this life, and that temples are where that can be made possible. We explained that baptism is an ordance, and similarly, theres an ordinance done in the temple that makes it possible to be sealed with our families. We gave them some information about how to find some family-history information and hooked them up with a pamphlet. It was really cool. Families... that's really what it's all about.

We also had a really good discussion with a lady whose a Croat but lives in Atlanta. Shes going back in a couple weeks. She expressed that she had regrets in the past about mistakes she had made, but was living a better life now. I shared with her what I felt about the power of repentance and how to repent. I mentioned how great it was that we can be simply and completely clean. I love that we can repent and be forgiven and feel the effects, for reals. We got her information and will be in contact with her.

Welp, I better go. You guys are the bomb. Take care. TTYL.

Love,

Elder Dixon

August 24

It's been a pretty great week here in Pula. Time flying continues to be an issue, but things are going well, heh.

Yesterday was a great Sunday. Two members of the Church came from Zagreb, because they were visiting Pula for the weekend. One was baptized 17 years ago when he was 15 years old and the other was baptized 15 years ago around the same age. It was so cool to have them with us. I was giving the Sunday school lesson on obedience. It was so great to have their contributions to the lesson. They have so much experience that we lack here in Pula. It's so great to see teaching going on Croat-to-Croat. They invited us to there weekend-home for lunch, and we talked about the church and missionary work and other random topics. Faithful members in Croatia are real-deal pioneers. It was so cool to see people with the same testimony, knowledge, and sense of unity that is found with every faithful member of the church.

Also, yesterday, I conducted my first interview as a leader in the church! I'll tell you what, that experience really motivated me to live close to the Holy Ghost. That meeting wouldn't have worked out if it were any other way. But, the Lord helped us out, and I think we both left the room edified. Also, I'm so impressed with the members here and how faithful they are with such limited support. I've grown to love the people here. If I get transfered any time soon, I will probably punch a whole in a wall... JK, but really, I can't leave Pula. I love it.

Things are going well with my companion. I see a lot of me in him. We are similar people, and I came to Pula at four months in Croatia just like him. I know where the brother is at, so it's nice to work with him in that sense.

We found a couple cool investigators whose lives can be very blessed and serious questions answered from accepting the gospel and hear the message of the Plan of Salvation. I'll keep you updated on future progress...

Welp, our members are doing good, but still keep them in your prayers! The church needs to grow and these members need to endure and progress to the end. Theirs a lot of opposition in these parts against those two goals, so please know your prayers are appreciated and felt in Pula!

Welp, I better peace out. I love you all. Take care!!

Love,

Elder Dixon

Catching Up

2009-07-12T17:32:00.001-07:00

Please accept my apology for not posting to this blog for three months. Ryan continues to have great experiences in the work of the Lord in Pula, Croatia. He and his companion, Elder Anderson, from Cardston, Alberta, Canada, are the only missionaries in Pula, since the missionary couple, the Petterssons, returned home to Utah. Elder Dixon and Elder Anderson, who just recently arrived from the MTC, lead the little group of seven members of the Church in Pula as they continue in their efforts to build a branch of the Church in that city.

Ryan is really enjoying his work. In his words, "I am happier than I have ever been on the mission aka in my whole life." He certainly looks happy in following photo of Ryan and fellow missionaries looking out the window in an old building. We received the photo yesterday from Sister Hill, the mission president's wife.

Here are a few excerpts from recent emails we received from Elder Dixon:

May 18th

Welp, we just got back from a P-day adventure. We went to a really old castle called Dvigrad, hiked through this beautiful canyon in search of some caves that we didn't find, and went to a town called Motovun that's on top of a hill where there's a really pretty view of villages and viniards. I had a 'Croatia' moment while we were in the car. We drove past rolling hills with scattered groups of trees and small villages in between while everything was in bloom. All of that was under a blue sky, and it was beautiful. I thought about how rare a chance it was to be where serving and having the calling I have. I'm in a beautiful place and serve among some wonderful people. I wish you all could see beautiful Croatia and meet the members and missionaries here. It all combines to make a pretty quality experience!

Were teaching some new people. We are teaching another drunk-type guy. We will see if he is as humble and awesome as Mario, and will give all of it up! We also have an English student that is going to come with us to District Conference on Sunday. We have never taught him personal lessons, but he has been to almost every spiritual thought since I have been here. We just announced to everyone at our spiritual thought that an apostle was going to be coming, and he said he wanted to come! He's a big stud, and would make an awesome member. Keep him in your prayers. We would love for him to take the lessons from us and be baptized.

May 25th

This weekend was District Conference. It was so awesome. It was also tiring. We woke up at 3:30 in the morning on Saturday to get to a meeting in Zagreb on time. We had meetings and contacting throughout that day. Then, in the evening, we took a bus to Karlovac, a city about 45 mins out of the 'Greb, to sleep there over night. We woke up at 4:30 the next day to get to a bus to Zagreb. That evening, after all was said and done, The Pettersons drove us to Rijeka, where Elder Nelson had to go to the doctor the next day (today) for his eye. At 10ish we got on a 2 hour bus to Pula. It's p-day, so we got home, and we both crashed and took naps, and now we're back on track.

It was all worth it though. Those were some of the coolest meetings ever. Saturday morning was a meeting with Elder Christofferson and just the missionaries. That was so sweet. President and Sister Hill talked to us, along with Elder Wondra from the area 70, as well as Elder Christofferson's wife. Then Elder Christofferson addressed us. He just opened it up to questions. He is truely a remarkably good man. I was amazed by how calm and good he was. We each got to shake his hand. It was pretty amazing to look into an Apostle's eyes. He just has a goodness and a purity about him that you would expect from an Apostle. In every way he fits the mold you of an apostle. In response to all of the questions he recieved, he simply would turn to the scriptures and teach the pure doctrine. There was no opinion mixed in with it. It was simple the doctrine, nothing more, nothing less, and the Spirit was strong. I've grown to really love him. He is the man.

So, I went to the restroom during lunch, and immediately following me was Elder Christofferson... I decided to use the stall instead of the urinal in order to avoid any apostalic awkwardness, but when I got out he was combing his hair in the mirror. So I went to wash my hands, and we were standing next to one another, just he and I, and he said, "Did you survive the meal?" I kind of laughed and said, "Yes, I did. Thanks for all you've said. It's been a good weekend." He said, "Your welcome. Yes it has." We said bye or something, and he left. Haha, I never thought I would have personal one-on-one contact with an apostle in a bathroom in Zagreb, Croatia!

June 1st

Elder Nelson and I have been really blessed to make contact with a lot of people. We've been getting a lot of numbers from people and have had several chances to teach. We're struggling to find people who really want to read the Book of Mormon or progress in any way, though. Peoples' non/committal tendencies can be pretty frustrating, but I know there are some exceptions out there ready to hear the gospel. I've felt lately a greater need to prepare myself to be able to teach the people who are prepared when we come in contact. I need to be the missionary the Lord can depend on to teach his receptive children. The more ready I am, the more willing the Lord is going to be to bless us with prepared souls to teach and baptize.

Yesterday, Elder Nelson and I were walking down a sidewalk by the harbor contacting. We noticed a couple kids across the street pointing to us and talking to their parents. Elder Nelson was like, "Dude, those are Mormons".   Haha, sure enough, about 6 people crossed the street, and when they were about 20 feet in front of us, the dad said in English, "We are members from Italy!" We got talking to them, and they live in Milan and were in Pula on vacation. I asked them if they knew Elder Toronto. They didn't, but they knew the story of their ancestor that converted. They were checking out the Croatian on our name tags and Book of Mormons and thought it was so cool. When they were leaving, they all wanted to shake our hands and stuff. I got that missionary-hero feeling when I shook the kids' hands, haha. That was pretty sweet. It's not every day you run into an LDS family on the streets of Pula! It was tight.

June 8th

Every companionship is training in our zone, save the zone leaders only. So, I guess this makes me the first trainer in Pula, training the first greenie to ever come to Pula. Btw, his name is Elder Anderson from Calgary, Canada. Pretty cool, eh?? Pray for the brother. And more for me…

I’m pretty nervous x 10097342439074397607. My language skills are weaker than I would like, and I still have the junior companion slash greenie feel going on. I’m going to have to step it up, be a little better, rely on the Lord a little more, etc. I really want him to see some real success and have a blast. I didn’t find or teach very many people during my first four months, and I don’t want that to be the case for him. I really want to help him hit the ground running. It’s pretty out of control, because the Petterssons are going to be leaving in a month, and after they leave, there isn’t supposed to be a senior couple coming here from what I know. Therefore, it will just be Elder Anderson, myself, and 7 members in Pula.

June 15th

I'm very impressed with Elder Anderson. He knows so much more Croatian than I did coming out of the MTC. In fact, he puts my greenie speaking skills to complete shame. He's going to own the Croatian language. He looks a lot like Brian Garner, Ed's friend, especially when he's smiling. He's from Cardsten, Canada. He is a stud. It's been pretty sweet so far. He's already taught his first lesson, blessed the sacrament, given a talk, prayed at meetings, and contacted people on the street. We are planning to get up early from here on out to study the language, so that we can hit the ground running. I have a feeling this is going to be a sweet transfer.

I was pretty nervous coming into this transfer, but it's going good. I've experienced a boost in my ability to understand and speak. So much that I think that Elder Anderson is under the false misconception that I'm fluent in the language, haha... Hopefully I can keep him in ignorance... :)   JK.

June 23rd

The greatest experience happened the other day. We were on our way home, and at the rate we were going, we were going to get home 5 or 10 minutes early. So, we decided to take a longer route and talk to a couple more people. We stopped a young guy -- 20s -- and began talking about the Book of Mormon. He was a cool guy but didn't seem really interested at first. I was holding out a copy of the Book of Mormon as we were explaining a little about it. After a minute or 2 of talking, I felt something fall on the book. We all heard something so we looked down, and a bird had dropped a gift directly onto the Book of Mormon. (You can use your imagination and take a guess at what type of gift it may have been... haha.) That guy -- looked up and said, "That's just your luck." After that, I said, "I think that means you need to read this book." We laughed about that, and after a minute or so, we got his number and we gave him a pamphlet.   I guess that gift was a gift from the heavens, because since then, we have met, and he is currently in the process of reading the Book of Mormon. Haha, the Lord works in mysterious ways... I think if that bird didn't come to lighten up the mood a little, he wouldn't have given us his number.

We had interviews with President today. He is the best. I love interviews with him. He's so directed to understand our needs. I appreciate the man. I wish you all could know President Hill.

To answer Mom's question, Pula is its own district. After the Petterssons leave, it will be just Elder Anderson and me. I'm kind of excited. It will be pretty cool to just go at Pula, just me and Elder Anderson.

June 29th

Things are going great with Elder Anderson. He is the man. I've never enjoyed missionary work as much as I am right now. We are so busy! I have know idea where time is going. It seems like weekly planning shows up about every 48 hours. The thought that I have been out almost a year blows my mind slash freaks me out. It just makes me want to work harder!

Elder Anderson and I officially walked home our first drunk the other night. It was funny and sad all in one. He was eighty-ish. I felt he was a little old for that stuff.

We are teaching the guy we contacted when the bird pooped on the Book of Mormon. He is such a cool guy - one of the coolest people I have met in Croatia. He just gets it. He's been a pleasure to teach. We are only a couple lessons in plus seeing each other on the street, but I feel good about him. He's reading the Book of Mormon right now like a champ and is committed to pray about it before Wednesday. Pray that he'll get an answer. He's the man.

So, Elder Anderson and I were living off of noodles, gouda cheese, chicken seasoning, milk, and corn flakes last week because we were out of dough for the month. We were really puzzled as to why we ran out of money so early. So, we were planning to finish off the last 5 days of the month with the same noodles and cheese with seasoning on top, haha. In desperation, I looked where I usually keep my food money, and behold - 400 kuna aka about 80 bucks. We were so happy, man. We went shopping and now we are eating like kings, because we scraped by for like a week, haha. Funny huh!

July 6th

Things have been going really well here. Our investigators are progressing more and more, and we are continuing to find people. We're very blessed, Elder Anderson and I. I am happier than I have ever been on the mission aka in my whole life. There's not enough hours in the day and we're pretty busy, but I love it. I hope we get busier and busier. I love this work. I love the gospel. Life's great out here.

The "bird poop investigator" is doing good. ... He's really great. Such a cool guy with great questions. He's probably our most progressing investigator. Keep him in your prayers. On a side note, he also follows American baseball which is uncommon here. He likes to update me when the Diamondbacks win.

Beautiful Pula

2009-04-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

Ryan continues to serve in Pula, Croatia, a beautiful city on the Adriatic Sea. We don't have any personal photos to show you, but liked the following coastline scene from a travel website. We understand that Pula is a favorite tourist spot for visitors from many parts of Europe.

It sounds like the English classes Elders Dixon and Nelson are teaching are enabling them to meet new people and develop strong friendships. They hope that this will lead to opportunities to teach people the gospel.

A few excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Subject: Ciao Ciao

Dear Family,

Things are going well in Pula. Last Friday, we had Cowboy Night for our English students. It was an awesome activity. Probably the most awesome activity I have been involved with on my mission. Easily the greatest part was the cowboy dance that Elder Nelson taught to them all. When we decided we were going to do a cowboy night, Elder Nelson decided he would teach everyone a country dance he learned when he was in elementary school. So, virtually everyone that came (which was about 40 people) learned the "slappin' leather" dance from good old Elder Nelson. Haha, it was so funny. Elder Nelson and I got cowboy shirts... We had a cupcake eating contest, bobbing for apples, hamburgers, and other stuff. It was sweet. The coolest part was a time when like five english students ganged up on me and started asking all kinds of questions about the church. I got to testify a little and tell them more about what it was about, and I invited them to church. There's some sweet people that we want to start teaching, so we'll so how that goes.

So we went to some underground caves in Slovenia the other day. Easily the coolest thing I've ever seen on a p-day. They were beautiful. And huge. As a rule, we weren't aloud to take pictures. I went up to our tour guide and asked if we could take video of the cave with our cameras. Haha, she then proceeded to give like a two minute speach about how they allow it but don't recommend it, because people might get the idea they can take pictures -- and the flash was damaging to the living species and the nature, etc. So, I said okay, and since she said it was OKAY to take video, I was going to. I went to take a video, but it was on the wrong setting, and I took a picture that flashed in the direction of the tour guide from like 5 feet away. Haha, she was kind of frustrated, and I felt like Hades. I appologized right after and looked pretty stupid, but the best part is that Elder Nelson happened to get the whole thing on video! We sit down and watch that and just laugh. Haha, it was so funny.

So lately, I've been increasingly grateful for the way the Lord builds up good men and women in this life. Looking back, much of the growth in my life has come as a result of being surrounded by good men and the teachings of good men and women who love the Lord and live His gospel. The prophets and Christlike examples from the Book of Mormon and the other standard works have guided me in my decision making throughout my life; and the examples of good men and women that have surrounded me, like Mom and Pops, church leaders, and companions like Elder Nelson, have inspired me to repent, change, improve, and grow. I am growing more and more thankful for the goodness in people as I realize what it has done for me, and consequently, enabled me to be somewhat of an influence for good here right now. I love you peeps. Thanks for your goodness!

Welp, I better peace out. TTYL. I love you!!

Love,

Elder Dixon

Time is Flying in Croatia

2009-03-10T03:29:00.000-07:00

Elder Dixon reported this week that he is amazed at how quickly time is going by in Croatia.

The following photo is a sunrise over Pula, where Ryan is now stationed.

Some excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Subject: I said a boom chick a boom!!!

Fam!

Haha, Elder Nelson randomly started chanting the "I said a boom chick a boom" today and it made me laugh. I forget where he learned it, but it made me think of Shawn McKay at the classic Lyn Rae ward party! Such good times in the Lyn Rae hahaha...

Welp, it seems like this week didn't happen. I can't believe it's monday again and that transfers happen again in 3 weeks. I've almost been in Pula for six weeks. Croatia for 6 months... ish... Laterrrrr! is all I have to say about that! We had Zone Conference this week. It felt so low key for some reason. I think it's because five missionaries left last transfer from Croatia and we haven't got any back yet. We were a small group. It was an amazing conference though. President is called of God. K? K. He's truly directed to direct us. Inspired to inspire us. I love him.

I also really loved the workshop the Assistants to the President gave us. One of the assistants compared missionary work to sports. He said his coach in high school said to practice with your hands, but play with your heart and your mind. He talked about how in Volley ball, you would practice passing, hitting, and returning (and stuff) from every possible position on the court. That way, during a game, those actions were just muscle memory. He could think about and put his heart into the game, because everything else was simply automatic. He didn't have to worry about the mechanics. It's the same thing in missionary work slash life in general, I think. The scriptures teach us to treasure up knowledge. As missionaries, we practice teaching and speaking in our language. That way, our limitations are... limited, and the Spirit has more room to guide, teach, and befriend the taught. It's such a sweet principle that's so applicable to missionary work.

Last night, we taught our most active members slash couple about temple work. That's a sweet branch of missionary work... Preparing members to enter the temple. I love the temple. I would advise anybody preparing to go on a mission to go to the temple every possible day after he/she gets his/her call... I treasure my times in the Mesa, AZ temple. It's helped me to better understand why I'm here and the goal for the investigators we teach. But, we showed them my pedigree chart, and explained that I was sealed to all those people and more. We explained that when they go to Frankfurt, they can do those ordinances for their parents and beyond. They were touched by that. Isn't that so sweet?? They can literally invite their parents to live in the presence of God and with them forever. I also randomly remembered that Brother Boren had ancestors in Slovenia and went there to do family history work. Nataia is a Slovene, so I told her that. It was cool. Haha, small world.

Welp Ive got to go! Thank you for everything. I'm really happy out here. Thanks for the mail. Take care!!

Love

Elder Dixon

On the Internet in Pula

2009-03-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

Ryan's face was front and center in an internet article published on the Regional Express website in Croatia. As Ryan reported in his last email, "This guy stopped us while we were passing out English fliers the other day. He was some journalist and he busted out his telescope camera and asked a bunch of questions and told us we'd be on the internet. And we are!"

We can't understand the text of the article because it was all written in Croatian, but I hope it helps the elders get noticed so they can find more people to teach.

We continue to be inspired by Ryan's emails. Here are a few excerpts from his last email:

First of all, we passed out a little shy of 5000 fliers for English class. Guess how many showed up to sign up... Yes, 120 people! Pretty crazy huh? We passed out twice as many fliers in Osijek where there is probably double the people, and got about the same number. So pretty much, Elder Nelson and I just signed up to be full time English teachers! haha. Its sweet, but we were aiming more in the 20-50 range. Haha laterrrrrr, we'll see how that goes!

Our first baptismal candidate is doing good. She is showing she understands what we are teaching and that she has a testimony. She's quit coffey and is committed to pay tithing. She pulled a fast one on us this week, though. She told us her family was muslim. That kind of caused some problems, because I guess if you are teaching a muslim (at least in this mission), President needs to interview them and make sure their family wont physically hurt them for being involved with the church. I guess there were some problems in slovenia once. So, we got her interviewed by way of Elder Pettersson, and I think she'll be fine. We've taught her with her family around anyway and they didn't seem to have any problems. But shes doing good. Pray for her.

Welp, Zone conference is coming up. I can't wait! I could use a solid hand shake from President Hill and some inspiring words from the leaders of the mission. How did I get through life without Zone Conference every six weeks back at home?? Idk man.

I've thought about the atonement alot lately. I love that it's real. We teach people so often that Jesus overcame sin, sorrow, pain, and death so that we could be happy in this life and return to Heavenly Father. I'm so thankful that that's true. I don't think I could ever deny that. I'm so thankful for the evidence of that truth in my life. The Savior really does forgive sin, comfort us through the Holy Ghost, and strengthen us through that same medium. He lives today and leads the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which provides the way to take full advantage of that infinate atoning sacrifice. I'm thankful for the scriptures and a Prophet that instruct us how to live according to that gospel. I know it's true!

I found out this week that Elder Nelson was part of the green barret's (barays?? idk) in the army. I guess that's one of the most elite groups in the army. Seek and destroy style... He's a stud. I'm lucky to serve with him.

Welp peeps, I should go!! Keep it real! I love you so much. Take care.

Love,

Elder Dixon

The Greatest Week ...

2009-02-24T07:05:00.001-08:00

Elder Dixon's emails continue to be very inspiring. They are the highlight of each week. This week was no exception, as Ryan proclaimed, "it has been pretty much the greatest week of my mission." We are so gratified to hear that he is working hard, teaching good people and growing stronger and stronger in the power of God.

The following photo is a Roman arch in Pula. What deep history is there! For us in Arizona, where something that has lasted over 100 years is "old", the historical richness Ryan is experiences must be breathtaking.

An excerpt from his email:

Hey Fam!

How are we?? Btw, sorry I'm late but happy b-day to Rachel and Ty! You guys are tight. In 2011, let's have a sweet group b-day party... K? K. It was nice to hear from my bro's Todd and Spencer in the past weeks. Such studs. Thanks for the e-mails. God speed as Miamaids pres Holly. Scarlet Pimpernel style. haha.

Welp, it has been pretty much the greatest week of my mission. That seems to be happening alot. First off, I'd like to bare a brief witness too that missions are so dang fun. Besides all of the other miraculous, good, testimony fortifying, peaceful, joyful, spiritual, etc. things, missions are such a blast and so tight. So many random, funny things have happened this week. From investigators falling asleep in lessons narcolepcia style (is that the right word?) to drunks dancing while playing a Brother Wach type flute to 70 year old grandmas screaming at us about mafia conspiracy theories, it's all happened in this past week. Though the funness of a mission isn't the most important thing, missions are such a blast.

Along with all that stuff, came alot of success this week, including 2 baptismal dates. Elder Nelson was reviewing our numbers this week before calling them in to the Zone leaders and said, "We've got a lot to be thankful for". That's the troof. The Lord has blessed us with wonderful opportunities, experiences, and blessings with what seems like little effort on our part.

We got another awesome investigator this week. He got an english class flier from us in the past week or two and saw the name of our Church on the bottom. He called our number from the flier and told us he wanted to meet with us. It turns our hes lived all over the world and been a part of all kinds of religions, and since he moved back to Pula he hasnt had anyone to really talk to about God and spiritual things. He really missed that, and was praying for something along those lines and got our flier. We met with him. He speaks really good english and is very intelligent. He LOVES to meet with us. It was crazy how excited he was to talk to somebody about the gospel. His hands were shaking he was so excited. We gave him a Book of Mormon. We talked and he was full of questions. We met another day and he read us all the things he enjoyed out of the Book of Mormon. He read all over. He was like "Alma was a very interesting man" haha. He loves the Book of Mormon. He came to church on sunday. We are going to talk to him more about baptism this week.

So, if I had to sum up our experiences this week, Id have to refer to Doctrine and Covenants 64:34... "Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days." The Lord has really blessed Elder Nelson and I this week. It seems like all we did was try. We simply tried to have "the heart and a willing mind" --and I think we even fell short of that-- and the Lord put people in our path and worked on the people of Pula. I love him and am so thankful for his kindness. It's a miracle that we can repent. I can't comprehend the goodness of that gift, nor the debt I owe to the Savior.

Welp, I better roll out. But I love you. Thanks for the love and support. I hope Angie and Heidi are doing good with their respective babes. Keep it real.

With Love

Elder Dixon

Pula

2009-02-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the delay between updates. Ryan continues to have great experiences in Croatia. He was recently transferred to Pula, located on the Adriatic Sea east of Italy. While Osijek was almost as far east as you can go in Croatia, Pula is at the far western end.

Ryan says this about his companion, Elder Nelson:

Elder Nelson is the man. It's so sweet to work with somebody who has a spirit of urgency about him and is excited about the work to be done. Elder Nelson served in the army in Iraq and other places and graduated from BYU in law. He's older, but an h-core stud. I love working with him. Truly the man.

We thought you would enjoy the following photo we received from Ryan this week. The photo of Ryan and his alter-ego was taken in Osijek.

Here are excerpts from our last two emails from Ryan:

Monday, February 9th

Subject: Werd up!

Family Dixon,

What ep!! How is my kin??... Haha. Man, such a quality week in Pula. Real quick, here is my address, Mom-hop.

Elder Ryan James Dixon
Bartolomeo Dei Vitrei 12
52100, Pula
Croatia

Guys, I love Pula. I love Elder Nelson. I should just send you the letter I just sent to President just to show you how happy I am to be here. I could I guess, but I would feel like I was jipping you guys out of an origional or something... But, jtlyk, i dig Pula. And Elder Nelson is the man. It's so sweet to work with somebody who has a spirit of urgency about him and is excited about the work to be done. Elder Nelson possesses those qualities. Our goal is to make this place a branch by the end of the transfer. That means we will be making contact with a male somebody in the next couple weeks or so, so we can teach him, baptize him, and help him on the active path of endurance to the end. Or we will get Deni (Denee), an inactive member, active again. One of the two or both. Please pray for a priesthood holder in Pula.

So this past week, we had a program about Joseph Smith for which we passed out 5000 fliers. Guess how many people came... Yes, four. Do you know what's tight about that?? That's four more than I have ever heard of coming to an activity like this. We started out, introduced ourselves, stated our purpose word for word, explained we were Christians, introduced the story of Joseph Smith and watched the Joseph Smith movie. Afterwards, we bore our testimonies and invited them to learn more. We told them how they could know it was true - through the Book of Mormon. We even said that we teach four lessons and invite people to be baptized. There were two people in there that seemed to be really touched. Unfortunately they werent touched enough to give us their information... But! They took alot of information about the church, including a copy the Book of Mormon, a pamphlet about the Plan of Salvation, the March issue of the Ensign, and other quality stuff. The Book of Mormons have our number in them so we are hoping they will be in touch.

All in all, I know that none of our effort was wasted. It wasn't perfect, but we did all we could. We gave these people a clear oportunity to hear the gospel. However, while I was watching the movie with only four people who weren't members, I was feeling a little disappointed. I wondered what I could have done better and thought about my short comings associated with this presentation. While I was thinking about that, my mind caught hold upon a thought, like Alma did after seeing the Angel. I thought about the compensating power of the Atonement and also its power to remit our sins and mistakes. I felt as if Elder Nelson and I had done all that we could do, but we still fell short and made mistakes along the way. I felt the quiet confirmation that the Lord was pleased with our effort and accepted our sacrifice. I felt his love for me. I felt like Alma. "And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more. And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!" Isn't the atonement wonderful? I know it's real, because I've felt the peace that comes from it's application in my life. I've felt the same way that Oliver Cowdrey felt at one point in his life. The Lord said to him, "Cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?"

Monday, February 16th

Subject: Welp, I love Pula!!

Obitelj Dixon kako ide??!! Pozdravi from the coast!

Jtlyk, I got Angie's package! President came down for interviews and hooked me up with some Dunn love. Thanks dawg. American candy for life...

So, it's been a sweet week. The were 3 people at church this week that weren't members. So sweet... Elder and Sister Pettersson were in Slovenia this weekend, so Elder Nelson and I were in charge of Sacrament Meeting.

Welp this week, I gave a talk about the Holy Ghost at church. That was a good review for me. The gift of the Holy Ghost is such a priceless gift. I'm so thankful for the comforter, guide, messenger, and helper that the Savior and our Heavenly Father left for us while we are physically apart. It teaches how to live so that we can get back to them. Not only that, but how to have peace, happiness, and success in this life. I'm thankful it teaches us in our minds and feelings and in our hearts rather than in some other way!

So for my b-day, Elder Nelson and I hit up the only legit Mexican Food Restaurant in Croatia, convenieniently located in Pula. It was pretty quality! It doesn't even approach Rosa's or something like that, but it satisfied my Mexican cravings and we will be going there oft.

Welp, I better go. I love you all. Take care in the USA. Peace in da
middle east!

Love,

Elder Dixon

Celebrity Ryan

2009-01-18T14:14:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful surprise this month by seeing Ryan as a featured attraction in the January Ensign magazine, page 7. He and another Elder were teaching some Ukranian people. Photographers from the Ensign took their picture. These are real investigators, with real missionaries. What a thrill!

It is wintertime in Croatia, but as far as we can tell, it is similar to Utah or Idaho. For example, the temperature in Osijek is 36 degrees Fahrenheit at 11:00 PM Sunday, one degree warmer than Salt Lake City, Utah, at 3:00 PM Sunday. Cold, but not too bad!

Some excerpts from Ryan's last emails:

January 5th:

Subject: dearest family and friends...

WHAT EP??

Hey fam, how are we? I hope your good! So, there's not much time... Ill try to say all I want to say!!!

But let me give you a little peek into one of the greatest hours slash one of my favorite hours of my life... Elder Giberson and I were tracting, and I had the feeling slash idea slash prompting by the Holy Ghost (so I learned) that I should share with somebody that they were a child of God. So I asked a couple questions to Elder Giberson to figure out how to say what I wanted to say. We rang a doorbell, and when a lady came out she was walking to the gate through her mini yard, I decided to say it to her. Since it was kind of a new approach and I'm a flaming genius, I tripped over my words, but eventually got it all out. She let us in, (whether out of pure sympathy or because of the Spirit, Im not sure. Probably slash hopefully the latter.) and we got to know her. Her name is Ružica (Roo-ž-eetsa) - that ž is like j in jaque. She has a husband and one daught and one son. We got to teach her a full lesson about Christs gospel on the earth today and share simple, sincere testimony. Her husband was there for half of the lesson. Such nice people... We gave them a list of the questions of the soul that can be answered by the Book of Mormon, invited them to pick their favorite, read the verse or chapter related to it -- they were written on the paper, and pray about it -- to pray to know whether or not it was true. She said she wants us to come back in 2 weeks so that she could read the whole book. I hope her husband, Ivan, (eevahn aka john) will read and pray too. Pretty much, I walked out of that house feeling pure joy. I took a picture of my planner, because we accomplished our goals that day for new investigators. In the future, that wont be uncommon, but this week, it was! I cant wait to meet them again! Pray for Ružica and Ivan... Ivan looks like a short version of the dad on Boy Meets World. And their kids name are cory and tapanga. jk... :)

So, transfer rumors are already beginning. The thought crossed my mind of leaving Osijek. I realized then, that over time, I have grown to love this city, and more than that, I love the people. President told me in Ljubljana when he extended this call here that he had to tear people away from their areas -- that they didn't want to leave. Im not going to lie, after my first week or two in Osijek, Im not sure I believed that. It's not the most beautiful place in Croatia, and the branch is mini. But, this place has become a part of me. It feels like home. I love the members of our branch so much. I love the people in Osijek. I may cry a tear or two if I have to bounce. I let president know I would never ask him to keep me in an area, but I would welcome with open arms a call to stay in Osijek. Is that bad?? I wish you could all meet these wonderful people...

So, president taught me something in our interview the other day. He was talking about how missionary work really is the most enjoyable when we want to be like the Savior. When we do that, we wake up happy every day, knowing that we will be doing the Lord's work... because that's what we want to do. I can honestly testify that the happiest times in life are when our wills are aligned with the Lord's, and we follow his commandments and guidance with courage.

Welp, it's cold up in here. I rock a scarf and dugi ivans (long johns... heh!) every day pretty much. It snowed like crazy on New Years day. It was a winter wonderland. When it snows again, were going to make the sweetest croat snowman.

Im going to the Ljub this week to get my work visa finalized. So ill be up there on wednesday and thursday.

Welp, fzam, you guys are the bomb digity. Thanks for all you do for me. Your examples make me want to be better. Jtlyk, I am happier than hades. I pray that you are too.

Cuvajte Se!

Love,

Elder Dixon

January 12th:

Subject: Dobar Dan, Dobar Dan!

Hey, what ep?

So, sometimes, I use phrases like what ep, bfe, and puh inadvertantly, and people dont get it. So, its nice when I read my emails and my fam uses them too and I can prove to my district that I don't just make this stuff up and Its used by at least a few other peeps. Haha, I just showed Elder Jensen mom's email w/ bfe and I was like "see??" haha

Osijek is the bomb.com. We are starting english classes again this next week. We had a sign up day on thurs and 50 more people signed up, so we will get to meet some more sweet people tomorrow! Last wk and part of this one we got out 8000 fliers, mostly in mail boxes, so its nice to see some pay off :)

So, on wed night we went to Zagreb to sleep for a night before i went to Slovenia on thurs to pick up my volunteer visa (ive been a tourist here until jan 3rdish). Elder Giberson and I are genious and missed our train to the 'Greb and so we picked up a bus later that left at 9 and arrived in Zagreb @ about 1 oclock a.m. style. Want to here the cool part? There was a stop at a city called Slovonski Brod (Slow-voan-skee Brode) and 3 people came on - 2 men and 1 woman. The woman sat next to me after the 2 men had sat down behind me. I was hesitant to talk to her, because my croatian still isn't quite to that flawless level yet and it was going to be a lengthy bus ride. But I decided to open my mouth and hoped that the Lord would back me up. We actually talked for a long time! THe conversation was in and out about the church, and I got to give her a Book of Mormon. I explained it to her - who wrote it, how we use it, and that it testifies of Christ. I shared a small testimony. When the two men who were with her saw I had given her a BoM, they asked if they could have one. I was like, sure! I only had one other copy, but I gave it to them shared a little about it and invited them to read it. I showed them all the questions of the soul. It was sweet! I hope a planted a seed for them and for Slovonski Brod where there aren't missionionaries right now. I know that if we are promted to talk to somebody and we open our mouths, God will fill them with what needs to be said. He will always help us accomplish his work!

Hey, so have you guys seen me in the January Ensign??!!! There's a picture of me teaching in the first presidency message.... Elder Jensen and I were on exchanges on a day that the Ensign people were scheduled to come to Croatia, and they took pictures of us teaching these Ukranian people! It was sweet!!! Pretty dope, huh???

So, Ive got to bzounce, but I love you!!

Peace out,

Love,

Elder Dixon

Christmas Memories in Osijek

2009-01-04T18:42:00.001-08:00

It seems like a long time since we talked with Ryan on Christmas Day, but we still feel the great spirit he exuded as we spoke with him. As a new year dawns in Croatia, we are so delighted with the work he is doing and the good experience he is having. Ryan's description of the first baptism service he attended in Croatia brought tears to our eyes and warmth to our hearts.

The following photo shows Ryan with Dario, a "friend of the church" who has been attending meetings in Osijek for several years. We are sure that Ryan and his companion will continue to add to the positive relationship Dario and others like him have with the Church.

Excerpts from Ryan's last email:

Hey fam!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! 2009... crazy... Man, it was so nice to hear your voices.

So, Christmas was dope here in Osijek. Christmas eve, we went to the house of one of the other elders investigators. His name is Ivan (eevahn). We sang christmas Carols, talked, and Elder Jensen played some hymns on the piano. Elder Jenson talked a little with them about the Restoration. They are such awesome, nice people. It was Ivan, his wife, and their two kids who are in their 20s. It was a legit missionary Christmas. Along with that came my first nasty missionary food experience. They had this potatoe salad that was sliced potatoes and this dried fish with some kind of dressing. It wasnt terrible, but definately not great. The bad thing was she kept loading up our plates. I would ration my soda, so I could take a sip after every few bites. We would finish a plate and then she would be all "Eat! If its good eat!" Then, she would proceed to dish it up for us. This happened 3 times or so, and then the bowl was gone. We thought we were good then, but then she brought out another full bowl, and we all had another serving. I thought I was going to die. It took some serious mental strength. But Im alive! And the cool night with them made up for it.

It was a sweet Christmas. We went and visited some members. We went to visit Nikola (the one who gave us fruit that i told you about on the phoner). Hes the guy who gave me an F+ on my first talk out here. That was my favorite Christmas visit, maybe. He has a kind of abrupt personality, and teases people alot and stuff. Hes hilarious and we love him, but you usually dont see his soft / happy side. But you could tell his was grateful we came on Christmas to say hi. He doesnt have any fam here in Osijek, and when we came he had been watching this american movie from the 70s with subtitles on tv. Probably the loneliest Christmas ive ever seen. But he smiled and was happy to see us. We just talked for a while, and I think we did some real good in those few minutes.

Last saturday, we had a baptism here in Osijek!!! It was for a guy named Bernard Vildman. It was such a sweet meeting. It was way low key style. There was probably 12 people there including the 6 missionaries, but it's cool to think that that quite event that not very many people knew about was sealed in the records in heaven... God was aware of Bernard and his willingness to follow Christ by entering into that covenant through baptism by the correct authority - Christ's authority. And the next day, he was given the Gift of the Holy Ghost by that authority and now has the opportunity to have its constant companionship on his journey back home... It's truely amazing. During the prelude music, I looked over at Gordana, - his wife who is already a member - sitting next to him dressed in white, and she was crying. Im sure the throught crossed her mind that someday she and her husband could be married for time AND eternity and be a forever family. Those were some amazing moments that I hope I always remember... I also had the chance to give the talk about baptism. I hope it was ok!

So, Elder Jensen told me that Gordana said something about me... She said she was sure that I had Indian ancestry. I laughed and was all, "why?" Then, he said she could tell I was indian for sure, because of my nose! Haha, pretty random eh? The Dixon nose never ceases to amaze...

Welp, I love you. I hope everything is going great. I pray for you every day!!

Love,

Elder Dixon

Christmas Call from Croatia

2008-12-25T17:41:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-27T04:43:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-27T04:42:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-11-27T04:41:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-13T06:06:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-02T18:09:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-26T07:12:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-10-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-27T20:55:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-20T03:49:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-14T20:55:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-08-05T18:42:00.000-07:00

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.