Hola mi familia!

Hola mi familia!

Yay for p-days!! This week I took Sister Ramirez to the city for the very first time in her whole entire life!! I wish I could have filmed her expressions.  Haha.  I took her Times Square, and I swear her eyeballs were about to pop out of her face.  It was adorable.  She just keep shaking her head and saying that she felt like she was dreaming.  I think she is going to sleep well tonight ;)

Holy cannoli, this week I have learned A TON!  It truly has been a huge blessing, but also a big pain since almost everything I learned this week had to do with how I need to change myself!  Haha.  Training has been stressful and awesome, and has oddly enough exposed all my terrible qualities!  I have learned so much about how I still need to change into the person that Heavenly Father wants me to be.  I couldn't be more excited or nervous about the opportunity to change.

This week something was brought to my mind by our district leader, Elder Porter, and it has completely changed my perspective on the Bronx, my area, and  my mission.  He talked to members, random people, and other missionaries about what our district could do to help out the Bronx more.  Multiple people told him that there is a big depressing black could that ALWAYS hangs over the Bronx.  I sort of believed it, since really I have seen people struggling here, I have seen more depression here, and I have seen a real dirtiness here.  But I didn't think it was that bad, and I thought people were just exaggerating.  Then on Tuesday we stopped in Harlem to catch a certain train upstate.  I felt such a drastic change even though we were outside for literally five minutes.  There was a lightness in the air- like there was hope or something.  It kind of shocked me!  How can a borough only 30 minutes away have such a thick dark cloud constantly?!  It has flipped around everything for me!  We have been discussion light and the Holy Ghost, and have concluded that all the Bronx needs is light.  A whole heck of it, but still.  We are focusing on shining our lights more- finding the positive here in a negative place, and spreading that positivity.  I believe that with hard work and our uplifting message, we will truly change the Bronx. Millions of missionaries through the years have been working on this goal, and I am proud to join with them to hopefully accomplish it! Jesus Christ suffered the infirmities and depressions of every single person, and that includes the million or so that live in the Bronx.  We will teach and live the Atonement of Jesus Christ so powerfully that everything will change.  So this dark cloud best be watching it's back, cause we're about to chase it away.  Haha.

Funny stories from the week!

1. Sister Ramirez has been learning English, and I, Spanish.  Preach my Gospel says to try learning English in the home and Spanish on the street, so we have been trying to do that.  Anyways, so in learning at home, I have been teaching Sister Ramirez all these sayings that Americans say.  What's funny is that in reality, after teaching her what to say, I realize that I am probably the only person on the whole planet that says that phrase.  Who else says "Holy cannoli", "that's chill", "those are wrecked", "Oh my goodness, I am going to pee my pants", or "you wanna hear a funny story?"?? By the time we're done I don't know if she will be fluent in English, or in Sadie-ese. (I made that up too.  Haha.)

2.  While also learning English, Sister Ramirez has learned regular American/English phrases.  She has been trying to say "Sweet dreams" and other things like that before bed each night in English, and the other night she got confused with her phrases.  So as I was climbing into bed, she says, "Rest in Peace!" Hahaha.  Basically I've been telling her to Rest in Peace every night since then.  ; )

3.  No exciting Valentines Day stories!! Sorry!  After being called a vixen by Dad and other such things by family members this week (last week, not in her normal weekly letter, she had told us about an investigator who came to church, only wanted to sit by Sadie and after church asked her if she was going to the ward Valentines Party--and if she could go with him), I am proud to say that nothing happened Valentines Day! We went to the party, but it started super late and we had to leave early to get home, so I didn't even see our investigator. (Whew!)

4.  Funny thing about our investigator though!  So the first Sunday he came to church, we had no piano player.  Bishop always chooses the songs, but nobody can play the songs he chooses (as we have a limited repertoire of songs which we can actually play).  So we did everything a cappella... hahaha.  Oh goodness.  That was a little scary.  Anyway, our investigator who asked me on a date, Fernando, says, "Hey, I can play the piano."  So this week the bishopric hooked him up with a hymn book to practice with, and now hopefully we'll have an investigator playing the piano!!  I only pray that that will help him to find a testimony of the Savior and His true Restored Church upon the earth!

I LOVE you guys!!

Love,

Sister Dodson

First Week of Motherhood

Hola mi familia!!

Hello from your newest mother!! Man, motherhood is hard! But I love it.  (In the mission, when they are training a brand new companion, they call it "having a baby")  Sister Ramirez is a trooper, that is for sure.  We have had one of the weirdest weeks in a while.  Last week, starting with Thursday, basically all our appointments decided to cancel.  On Saturday we ended up tracting for about 4 hours... Hahaha.  Oh man, welcome to missionary life, Sister Ramirez! No, just kidding, missionary life is a lot different than that.  It has been wonderful to introduce her to what missionary life really is like.  Part of me just wants to call missionary work Miracle work.  Because in reality, that is what it is! God is letting us see little miracles every day, and we get to be part of miracles for other people! I keep telling Sister Ramirez that God just throws miracles at us, and all we have to do catch them!  I don't think she understands that phrase... It has been pretty funny this week to realize that I say a lot of phrases that really make no sense, unless you are me, or if you know English pretty well.  I keep teaching her different Sadie phrases to say.  She is going be all set up with a pretty interesting English vocabulary by the time we are done together!  Haha.

It has been such a blessing to have Sister Ramirez.  She is from a small town in Central Mexico that I cannot say.  She actually attended school at the MTC, so that was pretty funny!  Her english is at the level my spanish was when I came out to NYC.  Basically, she can read english, we can talk in both languages, but when it comes to an appointment or a meeting in English, she struggles understanding.  I was the exact same when I came out.  I couldn't understand any Spanish in appointments or meetings, but could understand reading or just talking slowly.  We are both currently fluent in Spanish! We are really teaching each other so much.  She is also a FABULOUS teacher, and that is not only just because she can speak Spanish... haha.  She really knows how to bring the Spirit to a lesson and knows the doctrine so well.  She definitely knows it better than me.  She was baptized into the church when she was 11 with her mother and sister. 

She is also a huge jokester!  She is always laughing and playing little tricks.  For example the other day we went in the Subway, but needed to cross to the other side.  I said let's cross!  She starts heading right to the track, like she is going to jump down and run across the electrified rails!!  Haha.  I was like, "Uh, Hermana! WAIT!"  It was pretty hilarious.  Especially since before I yelled, some random man waiting for the train starting yelling at her.  I love her already.  I cannot wait to see what kinds of miracles we can accomplish! 

Yesterday we had a lesson with a former investigator, Irene!  She is AMAZING.  Her husband's side of the family are all members in the DR, and she has always loved our church.  I taught her once in December, and then she headed back to the DR.  FINALLY she came back!! It was super exciting to hear that she was finally back!  We had a really quick but spiritually strong lesson about the Restoration.  Her face just lit up when we talked about Joseph Smith.  You knew she felt something.  She told us that she always has felt something, like a big peace when we teach her, something that she doesn't feel at any other church.  At the end of the lesson we read with her in 2 Nephi 31, which talks about baptism.  After we read the verse, before we could say anything, she says, "How long does it take before someone can be baptized?"!! She is SO prepared to be baptized.  We are currently working on getting her a date for the end of March.  Irene is such a gem, and it is a blessing to teach her.  She loves the missionaries so much, and spoils us.  Plus she is one of the best Dominican cooks out there, and ya tu sabe how much I enjoy a good Dominican meal.  Haha.

We are also working with Gina, an investigator who is so prepared as well.  We had an amazing lesson with her yesterday as well, and you could see her just glow.  She talked about how she hates the feeling she gets when she does something wrong.  Gina is our investigator whose husband has been less active for years. (I don't remember if I have talked about her or not!) We looove teaching her! Back when I was with Sister Richardson, she told me something about myself that I didn't really quite believe, until the other day when Sister Ramirez said that exact same thing about me.  They both said that I have a real gift with the youth.  I LOVE working with the youth, and have always had good lessons with them, but I never thought it was a gift.  I just thought that the youth were awesome and we clicked easily. I will be honest though, I think this gift is genetic, and not just Spiritually genetic.  Mom and Dad have always had chances to work with youth, and they are practically worshipped at the YSA ward ;) I am finding that our Loving Heavenly Father gives us gifts, and whether we realize it or not (or whether we realize that we even have them or not), they are given for us to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth!

I love you guys tons!! Thank you all for your prayers and loves! I feel so spoiled here.  Happy Valentines Day!! We will be spreading love all around NYC :)

Love,

Sister Dodson

p.s. GO USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Death and a Baby

Hola familia!

Another transfer, another companion, same area! And here is the kicker, I AM TRAINING!! I guess since Sister Richardson died with me (NYC missionary lingo for the end of a mission), I now get to get to have a baby!! (NYC missionary lingo for getting a companion who is brand new to the mission)  I couldn't be more excited!  Sister Richardson accused me of nesting... I was totally cleaning like a madwoman and making this place look awesome for my baby... I'm just so excited!  I have actually known about it for over 2 weeks now, but President asked me to keep it secret.  That was the worst.  Sister Richardson on the other hand, has known about it for about 7 weeks now- President told her she was being sent down here to prep me to train…. Man, she is good.  I had no idea that was what was going on.  Haha.  Either way, I definitely feel more ready to train!  I AM SO EXCITED!! All I know about my baby is that she is from Mexico!  So she is fluent! BOOYA.  I am so excited for her to teach me real spanish.  I don't know anything else about her... She could speak english, she could not, I don't even know if she brought a coat with her from Mexico... But I hope she did, because the weather is terrible here.  Today transfers have been "postponed until further notice" due to the weather.  I could hear what I thought was rain all night long on the ceiling (it was super loud), but when we woke up this morning, there was about a foot more of snow! Part of me is convinced it was snowing ice because typically you can't hear it snowing... haha. Either way, I am ready for the snow to clear up, and the weather to get warm again.  Hopefully by the end of this next cycle it will be more warm.

Here is the other kicker to this transfers, HALF of my district is leaving!  Let's be honest, I have completely mixed feelings about all of this.  I am soooo sad to see them all go.  Elder Gamble and Elder Stephens are going to Stamford (they are going to be roommates.. hahahaha.  Oh goodness.  That is going to be hilarious!), Sister Richardson is going home, and Elder Wilkins is going to Harlem!  I am so excited for all of them.  Our district has practically stayed the same for 3 cycles now, so we have definitely become suuuper close.  BUT I am suuuper excited for new people!  We are going to have three Mexicans just in our district... President must have wanted to send in some real Spanish speakers to help us clean up our Dominican accents (I have got a pretty terrible Dominican accent...  Oh man I love it!)

Sister Richardson and I have definitely tried to finish out her mission strong.  We have been working very hard, and are still seeing the fruits of our labors.  Yesterday, we had 5 lessons, which is more than we have had in one day EVER!  It was the perfect way to end her mission.  Plus, our very last lesson was with Dori, so it really couldn't have ended on a better note!  Dorivee is progressing so much that she is able to take the temple prep class in two weeks!! I could not be more excited for her.  It is amazing to me to see the direct results of her making small changes in her life.  Her mother has been a member for over 30 years, but her father never joined the church.  This past week, out of the blue, her father decided to go to church!! He was participating and asking questions, and came out with a whole list of things he wants to learn!! I just started tearing up when Dorivee told us this.  What a miracle! There really is an infinite amount of blessings that our loving Heavenly Father will pour out upon us as we are obedient!  I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to hear her testimony every time I see her, and then to watch as the miracles just keep pouring in and pouring in.  She is AMAZING.

Luis was confirmed this week!! We are hoping that within the next week he can receive the Priesthood and go to the temple.  He is such a strong member already!  I know he is going to stay in the gospel, and it is just going to continue to bless his life.  I LOVE IT.

I love you all!! I have been blown away by the examples of people here.  It is a testimony to me of how much I am meant to be here with these specific people.  I have learned so much, and have made such amazing friends.  The Church is true, it always has been, and it always will be.

Con muchisisisisimo amor,

Hermana Dodson

P.S. My baby is so cute! Due to the weather, the only transfers that happened were to place the new missionaries in their areas.  Sister Ramirez speaks English pretty well, AND has a coat. I'm pumped! She is so cute and sweet :)  SHE IS AWESOME! And she has to put up with me.  Poor girl!  The second pic says it all.  Hahaha…..her face. I'm so excited!

Wearing my awesome Avenger leggings that Mom sent!  I didn't flash anybody on purpose… Haha (but I did wish I could show them off). But it was suuuper slushy that day so I had to keep hiking up my skirt to jump in the puddles.  Everyone was super jealous of them. THANK YOU! I am in love with them!