Silence. When the Spirit Speaks.

Week #47

You know you've been sick when all of your journal entries this week include the words "gripa", "enferma" and "NyQuil". 

This is going to be a short one. We only had 2 days of working this last week because as my companion says, "la gripa has plagued Woodburn". Everyone is sick. Out of six missionaries that serve in our branch, none were well enough to go to church yesterday. Apparently half the branch didn't go either because they are sick too.

We had a zone meeting this week. This zone is so much bigger than what I am used to in Forest Grove. We talked a lot about the Spirit and the power of silence in lessons. I have such a testimony of silence. At the beginning of my mission silence terrified me because I thought it was my turn to talk and I had no idea what was even going on. I love silence now! It's when the Spirit gets to speak! (It also helps a little that I now understand the language.) We get to listen to the Spirit and to our investigator. Who knows, maybe they have something they want to say, but they need the time to get up the courage to say it. Go read Helaman 5:30. One of my favorite (well right now, it constantly changes). 

"And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul"

I received a blessing this week. I'm so so grateful that we serve near Elders who hold the Priesthood. My testimony is constantly growing of the power and love that you can feel through blessings from the Priesthood of our Heavenly Father. In each of my journals I have written something that was said in a Priesthood blessing during my mission. They are all different because they were given for different sicknesses and worries, but they all came from my Heavenly Father.

Next week I'll have more, I promise. We are hitting the ground hard the minute we aren't sick anymore. We have too much responsibility to do anything different. 

Los Quiero,

Hermana Dickson

Sickly Sisters Still Smiling 

Salem, Woodburn and Keizer