Hola mi familia y amigos!

Week 7 has come and gone! Time is cruising on by. Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes, cards, and gifts. My birthday was good. Uncle Phil brought me a cake a few days before and then on my birthday I got sick :( Not because of the cake. I went to the health clinic and found out I am getting a sinus infection so i got to leave the MTC to go get medicine. It was fun to be in my mission for a half hour :) I still don't have travel plans but should be getting them very soon. I found out today that an Elder who is in my district for the last 3 weeks is being temporarily reassigned to my mission for about a month. We are all excited about that. He is such a good elder. Let's see... this week:

-Sunday was mission conference. The main focus was on the birth and life of Our Savior as well as be an extraordinary missionary your whole life.
-We taught one of our progressive investigators and we had 2 elders from our district come in to be the members (bishop and member). I was having a hard time saying what I wanted to in Spanish. So one of the elders, Elder Jacobson, said a silent prayer for me and immediately the words came to me. I didn't know this happened until later when Hermana Smith was telling. It was amazing to see the spirit work with me and to learn the power of prayer.
-This week a lot of talk was said about humility.. i will take that as a hint to become humble. All that was said was amazing and I am grateful for the guidance of the spirit.
-1st Presidency Christmas Devotional = AMAZING! If you haven't watched it or read it do! It has been the best Christmas devotional I have heard in years. I watched it in Spanish and understood about half.. oh man am i going to have a great time in the field. Give me until about March or April and I will be fluent, I hope.
-Spanish is getting a lot better. I don't feel like I am digressing like some in my district. I am so grateful for the gift of tongues! There is no way I would be learning Spanish this fast! The hardest part is the grammar! I think once I fully understand it, espanol will be easier. I am trying out different things to try to pick it up faster, we don't have enough time in the day with everything they want us to do in the MTC. i know it will come as long as i am diligent and trying my best.
- i have a referral for the field- a guy who is working on construction here isn't a member but wants to know more :)
- Devotional this week was from Elder Zwick of the first quorum of the 70. He and his wife talked. She talked out faith and trust in Jesus Christ and shared some interesting experiences about when they were mission presidents, I won't share those with you now.. ask me when i get home. Elder Zwick shared a story about his son who is mentally retarded. They were on their way to St. George for a meeting and took their son with them. His son got quiet and a few minutes later asked: "mom, dad... do you know jesus?" He said it made him think back to his testimony and how he came to know Jesus and how he could answer his son, yes, I know Jesus. When he was telling this story it made me think back to my own life and how well I know Jesus. I am so grateful for Him and for everything He has done for me. Some things that Elder Zwick said that went along with this question were:
- come to know Him as you center your life on Him
- come to know Him in your own way
- In order to help others come unto Christ you personally need to know Him.... (read Mark 10:27)
- Jesus Christ will be your companion when you come to trust Him and know Him.

I just love this talk and the things I am learning here. I am so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ that I have and that I am continually able to learn and grow. I am grateful for the Atonement. I am grateful for the scriptures and that through them we receive answers for our own lives and learn about the Savior. I am so grateful to be on a mission and to help others come unto Christ. I am so grateful for each of you and that as we continue to strive to live the gospel that we can be an eternal family. Each of you mean the world to me and I am so glad that we are in the same family. I know that as we come to know our Savior, Jesus Christ, that our testimonies will be strengthened and we will be happier. I love the gospel and the blessings that I have received from it. I love each of you! Thank you for all of your love and support. I hope that we can all continue to come to know our Savior and appreciate the things we have in life and not become of the world. This week didn't seem like much happened but a lot did, it was all on the same topics and it's hard to put it into words.

Te amo!

Love, Hermana Kelcie Dickson