Last Week + This Week

We are combining two blog posts in one this week, just FYI!

June 18

Hola mi familia!!

Another great week here in Norwalk, CT!  I'm not going to lie, this week was a LONG one, but it was fantastic.  It definitely took me back to my first weeks as a missionary.  CRAZY.

As far as the work is going, we are kicking butt here.  We are working incredibly hard and having faith and just focusing on working with people to make covenants!

For Sister Vicino's first lesson ever we went and saw the Torres girls, and we had a ROCKIN lesson.  Jasmin said that after the baptism of the family (from a few weeks ago) she knew she wanted to be baptized, and Wendi told us that she was almost crying because she felt so different.  We are praying hard that they will be ready to be baptized at the end of the month! Wendi says she doesn't know if she has an answer yet, but she definitely does.  She just doesn't realize it yet. So hopefully with their parents' permission, in two weeks the Torres girls will be the newest members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!!!  I love those girls so much and can't wait for what blessings are going to come to them.

This week the elders passed us an investigator, Ana, who is 16-years-old.  We went over to her house to meet her and had an INCREDIBLE lesson.  She is one of the strongest people I have ever met.  She has been refined and prepared and endured a lot, and now is the time that she can accept the Restored Gospel and find everlasting peace and happiness.  We were bawling like babies when she told us her life story (at least Ana and I were... Haha.  WHAT DID THE MISSION DO TO ME??!!) She said that she has been asking that somebody would come by that she could talk to and express how she really feels and what has really been happening in her life.  She told us that she knew we were those people.  We testified to her that we were guided to her by a loving Heavenly Father.  The Spirit was outstandingly strong, and I know that she will accept the gospel SUUUPER soon.  She has a heart of gold and as the elders told us, "eats up the lessons."

Saturday was a super eventful day!! We started off the morning with Jorge's baptism!!! It was a really special experience and I am so grateful I could be part of it.  That family will be so blessed for the baptism of their son. I Love love love this family!! I was hoping that we would have a Lego cake to celebrate, but we just had pizza instead. I can deal with that ; )  Hermana Tirado also came back for the baptism and so we were all happy for that.  Later that night we had the ward Father's Day party, and somehow we got roped into doing a performance since the elders performed for Mother's Day.  We had planned to do a traditional Mexican dance with these SUUUUPER flowy skirts, but Tirado left and we had no idea how to do it at all.  We kind of made up our dance last minute, but the ward was laughing and it was a success.  I'll attach the video... Just remember that it was made last minute... so yeah. Hahaha. 

Love you all! The Church is true, and as we make and keep our covenants, we will be come closer to God.  No matter what sacrifice we have to make, we shouldn't worry about what will happen if we choose to follow God.  He knows us and knows our hearts, and everything will work out for the good.  Always, 100% of the time.

Love,

Hermana Dodson

June 25

Hola mi familia!

There is really not much time to write today... We had a crazy amazing pday at the temple. We are so blessed to be able to partake in and receive these blessings that come from The Lord through the temple. It especially was a blessing to see my sweet grandparents (and participate as they led the session), as well as Dorivee and her sweet sweet mother in the temple.  I may have even cried thinking of the beauty of eternal families….dang the crying!

We are working with many people on family history and it has been so much fun! There is a special spirit that comes as we help to redeem our ancestors. There is also a special spirit just as we research and learn more about those who have helped shaped our lives. Each person has a story and we can learn from them.

Love you all! 

The church is true,

Sister Dodson

New comp!

Hola mi familia!

One more cycle down, lots more to go! (Woohoo!)  This past cycle Sister Tirado and I must have done something right, since she was called as Sister Training Leader (STL) and I have been called to train again!  I am sol excited to train again!  Last time, with my first baby, I learned TONS and grew just as much.  It will be awesome to see where we end up this time : )

Sadie's New "Baby" companion: Hermana Vicino

My new baby, Sister Vicino, is AWESOME.  She is from Los Angeles and Arizona, is 22, graduated from ASU in English, and wants to get her masters in British Lit. (Sounds just like all my friends... weiiiird).  Anyway, here is the real kick in the pants, SHE IS A NATIVE SPANISH SPEAKER.  Her mom is from Honduras and her dad is from Uraguay!  Seriously, President has got to be trying to kick my Dominican accent in the pants or something.  But it's kind of engrained in me now, so yeah... Not going to happen.

Wendy, Blisleidy & Jasmine who we love!

This week we had the chance to work with a lot of families.  That has been the focus lately, and it has been incredible!  We had the chance to visit with the Martinez family, an active member family who were baptized a bit ago (the wife 3 years ago, and the husband 7).  They have a one little old chubster who is DANG cute.  A few weeks ago we were with them and asked about their conversion and so forth.  I asked if they had been to the temple, to which he replied that he had just barely gotten his endowment, and she had done baptisms once.  I asked if they had a goal to be sealed in the temple, and the conversation just died.  We decided to focus on the temple with them. So this week we went and talked about the family.  The Spirit was incredibly strong as we testified of being an eternal family and the blessings that come from loving and working with one another.  I was almost in tears testifying that my family is eternal.  I could not be more grateful for that powerful blessing.  No matter what happens in this life, I know that my family cannot be split up (as long as we live according to our covenants.)  Death, especially, has no weight when the family recognizes it's own eternal value.  After our lesson, I went to the bathroom and the husband left to put the baby to bed. When he came back, Sister Martinez looks at him and says, "Ya nos motivaron a irons al temple." (You have motivated us to go to the temple). I was almost in tears hearing this.  We are now working with them and with the Elders to get them to the temple!!!! What am amazing miracle!!

Sister Missionaries serving in the Stake having some fun.

We have also started to help Jorge's family with Family Home Evenings!! Mom, we have been using the FHE lessons you sent me, and they have been a hit! Next week we're playing Don't Eat Pete ; )  But the Spirit has been incredible at these FHEs.  We taught them about how to do them, and mentioned that to end a lesson, you finish with your testimony.  They interpreted this to mean that EVERYBODY ends with their testimony, and the effect has been so powerful! It is a treat for the kids to hear the testimonies of their parents, SO STRONG.  I love it.  Those testimonies are going to sink into the hearts of their children and change their lives.  I know it.

Tirado found this and said it was me... Hahahahaha.  It's so sad how true it is.

I love you all!!

Love,

Sister Dodson

City Adventures

Hola mi familia!!

This was another great week! I cannot believe that it is June already!  We finished off the end of the month really great and are pumped for June!  Transfers are next week, so we will find out if Tirado and I can go one more together, or if they split us up. Everything is kind of up in the air right now... Haha.

Last Friday we had Elder Stephen E. Snow and his wife come visit the mission!  They were absolutely fantastic and I learned a lot about continuing with our high goals of faith and excellence and especially about how to become a better teacher.  We all had to prepare a talk to give about faith and then two elders and two sisters were chosen to speak.  After they each spoke we had to critique them! That was a little unexpected and definitely a little nerve-wracking, wondering if we'd be picked and then have to endure the critiques of our peers.   Luckily all my years in art have made me love a good critique, so I wasn't too nervous if I was chosen to speak (which I wasn't).  But either way, I learned a ton more techniques in how to teach well, such as keeping eye contact, keep exactly in the time limit you are given (they timed each of the talks to make sure they were exactly 5 minutes!!), sharing stories, and especially including music.  It was an awesome meeting.

On the more hilarious/awkward side of my mission life, this week in the good old Spanish ward the members taught me all of the following words: sunburn, you got fried, sunscreen, and aloe lotion.  Needless to say, instead of being made fun of for speaking like a Dominican this week, I was made fun of for being a gringa.  Hahahaha. Thursday was the most beautiful day yet, so Tirado and I decided to do weekly planning outside.  Mom, you should be so proud--I put my 70 spf sunscreen on my face! But that was about it... The worst part about the burn was the fact that Friday, the next day, was the mission conference with Elder Snow.  Basically I met a general authority with arms and legs about as red as a fire truck... Haha.

ZONE MOVIE PARTY!  After our movie party! Yeah, I love when I get to wear my stretchy pants :) 

Yesterday, Tirado and I were out tracting and looking for people to teach.  All of our appointments fell through, so we decided to spend the time outside since it was a lovely day.  We decided to check up and see if Juana was home, so we walked over to her house.  Her van was not in the parking lot, so we decided to go somewhere else.  On the way out the parking lot, we decided to stop and talk to this man sitting in his truck.  As we approached him he says, "I know where you're from!"  We reply, "Oh you do?? Where are we from?"  And then he says, "You're los Santos de los Ultimos Dias!"  We ended up having an awesome lesson with this man Carlos who told us he had been baptized in Guatemala 26 years ago, when he was a kid.  Then when he moved here he and his three brothers didn't know if there was a church or anything, and they just kind of forgot.  He said he had been to other churches if people invite him, but it never felt the same as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He even remembered the names of the missionaries who baptized him!  We promptly told him where the church was, gave him a Book of Mormon, and are now working with him to get back on the path!! SO CRAZY!! WE FOUND A LESS ACTIVE STREET CONTACTING!  The Lord works in mysterious ways… That is for sure...

Love you tons!! Have an amazing week!

Love,

Sister Dodson

Awesome as always!

Hola mi familia!

This week was awesome! I don't think I have yet to have a week that was un-awesome... Haha. That's mission life for ya!

Some highlights from this week…. (p.s. the best is the last one!)

Thursday night we went over at about 8:30 pm to check on Juana. Last Sunday we snuck up on them and found her husband, Noe, and Jose her cousin home as well.  That was our first lesson with Noe.  (I don't know if I already told you his story, so if I did, here is a recap... Haha) He told us he believes in God and that he wants to live with our Heavenly Father again in Heaven. We asked him what he was doing to reach that goal. He told us that honestly at this point, nothing. He said he is seeking for some enlightenment on how to do it.  BOOYA.  Guess who just came knocking?! Enlightenment. We gave him a Book of Mormon and he said he would read.

Sadie with her zone (minus T, who was on splits)

So back to Thursday.  Thursday night at 8:30 pm we showed up outside the door, but you could tell from the peephole that it was pitch black inside the house. We thought maybe the kids had gone to sleep, so we knocked quietly. No answer.  A second time, no answer. We got out paper to write a note, but felt like knocking one more time. So this knock, here comes Juana! Turns out their power had been out all night, so her and the boys were just playing with flashlights. We asked if we could share a Book of Mormon story with them.  She invites us in and we sat down on the couch.  We then shared the story of when there were three days of darkness because of the death of Christ, along with the coming of Christ to the Americas. There was a peace as we showed pictures (thank goodness for our iPad, random wifi at Juana's house, and the children's Book of Mormon stories on Gospel Library!!) and testified of the coming of Christ and the peace that Christ brings into our lives. Just when we started showing the part of Christ coming, Noe walks in the door from work! And that is when we witnessed a miracle. Instead of walking in, putting his stuff away and going and doing his own thing, he walked in the door, sat right down on the couch and started listening and participating in the lesson. The spirit was so strong as we testified of the moment when people felt the prints of the nails in Christ's hands and feet.  Juana was crying (but it could or could not have been allergies... But we will call it the "Spirit" ; ). It was a big step for the whole family, and we hope to see a baptism next month, and a temple sealing in 13 months : )

"We dressed as the dolls! Except more stylish…..haha"

We had an awesome fireside from President Morgan on Sunday about member missionary work!! That man is definitely inspired. He created a list of 25 things members can do to share the gospel more. I will attach it, and definitely invite everyone to read it and pick a few to do. We can't do our work without members!! (Sadie forgot….so we are all off the hook until she remembers ;)

On Friday we have a general authority coming!! Elder Stephen Snow will be joining us here in NYNYN. He is super awesome and I am pumped to hear from him.

Saturday we had a giant sports day in Stamford! We basically invited all the town here, then went to a park and played soccer, volleyball, and basketball. We didn't have a whole lot of people show up, but the elders got a new potential who went to church from age 8-18 in Ecuador, and we had an awesome future member show up too. It was soooo much fun. And just awesome to get to play sports for 3 hours. The weather was perfect too. Also I found my new calling in life: soccer goalie. Didn't see that one coming, did ya? Hahaha. Just tell Emmy she better watch her back ; ) I guess all that fist punching from the elders trained my reflexes pretty well... Haha.

We had to ghetto fix the bumper of our car. Sweet!

Saturday we had a baptism of a family from Norwalk. The dad was baptized when he was young then went inactive. He became reactivated about a year ago, and his wife and two of his four daughters were baptized. He baptized the youngest who just barely tuned 8. The other one is 4 years old, and the oldest will be baptized in the coming months. It was so amazing to see a family with four girls be baptized and now prepare themselves to become eternal. The spirit was soooo strong. Another brother was baptized too by the Stamford elders. Right after his baptism, his 9-year-old son started freaking out. Let's just say June is going to be a huge month for baptisms here in CT :)

To top off everything this week, this morning I saw Nani and Papa at the temple!!!! A member from the English ward drove us down so she could do a session and we could play in the city. When I told her my grandparents were serving there and who they were, she slammed on the brakes and started tearing up. Apparently she was proxy sealed to Papa on Monday.  It was a tender day for her because it would have been her 42nd wedding anniversary with her deceased husband. 

Anyway, when we got there, I just went in the temple and asked the recommend peeps if I could see my grandparents and they like ran to go get them... Haha. Sister Tirado didn't have her recommend with her (because we weren't planning on attending the temple) so we couldn't go in, but we just had a reunion in the entryway!  No pics though, because I didn't think I could take a picture there…..But holy cow we were crying like babies... Hahahahahah

Here's a video of Sadie at Central Park. Enjoy!

Love you all! The Church is definitely true :)

Sister Dodson