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Happy New Year! I have been putting off writing a Christmas Newsletter, and now here it is Christmas Day. By the time I post this it will be a New Year’s Letter. My procrastination has been with good reason (for a change!) The death of Marsha’s mom in September has made it difficult to cope with the Christmas season, and her doctor said to not be involved in anything that made the holiday any more difficult than it already is. But now the dinner’s been devoured, the packages unwrapped, and it’s Christmas afternoon…the most difficult events to cope with have come and gone (almost), and it’s time to look forward to the New Year. 2010 was an interesting year for us. In January I extended an invitation to Pastor Bill Rogers at Word of Life Fellowship in Bentonville to go with me to Peru in February, an invitation which he accepted. Two weeks later, Pastor Bill suggested that Destiny Church and Word of Life Fellowship consider merging. I took his suggestion to Mike and Jeff, and a few days later we were sitting down with Pastor Bill and his Associate Pastor, Jeff Odom, to discuss that possibility. By the time the meeting was over, the decision had been made, and the following weekend the merger took place! Pastor Bill and I thought we’d have plenty of time to work out details while we were in Peru, but that never happened! Our busy speaking schedule left us little time to talk about much of anything. As a result, ten months later we’re still working on some of the details. Meanwhile it’s been a great move for both congregations. Destiny brought a younger leadership dynamic to the table, and Word of Life brought the stability of a church over three decades old. Mike is Associate Pastor in charge of a Saturday evening service; and Jeff and Vanessa are working with the Youth Pastor, as well as with Mike in the Saturday evening service. Marsha and I are heading up the Small Group Ministry (surprise, surprise!) and the missions ministry of the church. All three of the Dixon guys are bi-vocational, which means we work outside the church to support our ministry within the church. As the church grows and more staff can be added to the church budget, we Dixons will find ourselves in vocational ministry. Jeff was offered a pastoral position on staff of a large Houston area church, but both he and Vanessa felt that they are supposed to stay here and support the youth ministry at Word of Life. I made two trips to Peru in 2010. Marsha was only able to go with me in June. As I mentioned, Pastor Bill went with me in February. Our primary purpose for that trip was to be a part of the Victory Fellowship of Ministries Conference and Victory Bible Institute’s graduations ceremonies. Additionally, Pastor Bill and I both ministered in several churches in Peru, and I conducted a “Signs and Wonders in the Marketplace Evangelism Workshop”. This workshop has become a key part of our missions work in Peru, and I am grateful for our friends, Angelo and Christy Mitropoulos, for providing the material in Spanish. Angelo moved to his mansion in heaven this fall; I’m sorry he never had a chance to minister with me in Peru. It had been his desire to do so. In June Marsha and I made our annual trip to Peru for the National Association of Evangelical Churches of Christ of Peru’s annual Pastors and Leaders Conference. I have lost track of how many times we have been a part of that conference for eleven years. As you probably know from previous letters and emails I am a leader in the denomination. We do our best to not miss the conference. I also did a Marketplace Evangelism Workshop on that trip. I have two trips to Peru on the calendar for 2011 so far, again in February and June. It doesn’t look like Marsha will be going with me in February, but she will in June. Our plan is to take a team with us in June. In July we made our annual summer vacation trip north, first to our first spiritual granddaughter Bethany Knapp’s wedding, then on to Minnesota to visit with Marsha’s brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Mary. We’ve been making that trip for probably ten years. In the past we visited them at their lake home northwest of Minneapolis. It’s been my annual fishing trip. However, Tom and Mary sold their lake home and moved into the Twin Cities, so no fishing this time. But we did have a great visit with them. I mentioned Marsha’s mom’s passing. She got her promotion to glory in late September following a long bout with congestive heart failure and COPD. The boys and Vanessa were with Marsha and me as we saw Lil go from here to heaven. Even though we know where she is, and that she would not want to come back to earth, there is still a grieving process, made more difficult for Marsha by the fact that she works in the nursing home where Lil lived. As a result, she faces the loss every day. But the Lord is faithful, and His Spirit is the Comforter. Marsha is still the Activities Director at the nursing home, a position she originally took on a “temporary” basis in October of last year. Initially she hated the job, but now she loves it and recognizes it as her ministry. I’m still the Sales Manager at a local ADT dealer, Arkansas Security. I’ve been there for going on four years now. Mike’s AV business is growing, though more slowly than he had hoped. And Rhonda is teaching first grade at a local Christian school and loves it. Emily is 10, and Megan almost 9. They are growing up way to fast. Jeff is still working as a title agent, and Vanessa stays home with Abbigail, who is now 2 ½. She is full of the wonder of that age. All three of our granddaughters are a joy to be around. We’re grateful to be living in the same area as they. 2010 has been a year of transition for all of the Dixons. We believe that 2011 is the year of breakthrough for all of us, and for you. Our best wishes to you in the coming year. May the Lord bless and keep you. Love, Jim and Marsha
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